The Deputy Governor of Kebbi State, Samaila Yomber has appealed to the federal government for assistance in combating the menace of Quelea birds, which destroys farm produce.
Yomber made this call in a statement signed by the director of Research and Document, Aliyu Jajirma in his office.
Known to always move in massive numbers, Quelea birds have been described as the world’s most destructive birds. Their huge numbers make them a constant threat to sorghum, wheat, millet and rice farms.
Research from IRIN indicate that the average Quelea bird eats around 10 grams of grain per day – roughly half its body weight – hence, a flock of two million can devour as much as 20 tons of grain in a single day.
Though Quelea experts posits that at a national level a country loses only up to 5 per cent of crops, Yomber expressed that the rate of destruction of farm produce by the Birds had been on the increase annually as it was between 10 percent and 35 per cent in 2015.
Yomber said the pests were capable of destroying a hectare of farmland within an hour, adding that extensive farmlands had been under attack by these birds.
Stressing the need for federal government’s assistance, he said that fighting the Birds was capital intensive and that the state government alone would not be able to contain the menace.
He however added that federal government intervention would ensure bumper harvest during the dry and wet season farming season.
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