Quelea birds destroy crops in 4 northern states

Peasant farmers in the North Eastern part of the country are now counting their losses following the invasion of quela birds that destroyed farm produce as the harvest season begin.


It was gathered that locusts, grasshoppers and quela birds from Niger Republic had found their way into the country and destroying farmlands in the state, a development which the farmer lamented might cause food crisis in Nigeria

Though, while progress was made in some areas to curtail the menace, farmers in Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa and Borno States said the swamps are threats to bumper harvests, calling for immediate action.

This was as farmers commenced intensive campaign to control the menace in the affected 12 front-line states.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, had earlier warned that if the locusts, grasshoppers and quela birds from Niger Republic were not checked and controlled, Nigeria would soon face severe food crisis. The 12 frontline states affected by the pests and birds are Jigawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Katsina, Taraba and Kano.