By Kabiru Dogon Daji Birnin Kebbi
Kebbi state Government has commenced the seasonal aerial spray of the most pestiferous parasites birds known as quelea birds that devastate rice farm lands. Flagging off the aerial spray exercise yesterday at Tuga village, the State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Samaila Yombe Dabai said the birds destructive tendencies on cereal crops most especially rice are catastrophic any time the bird paid a visit. He noted that in kebbi state due to abundance of rivers, lakes and marshes has served as an adequate resting sites for the destructive birds and therefore, seasonal spray ould be the only remedy for their extinction.
Yombe further stressed that the presence of the parasite bird doesn’t augur well for agricultural production and caused night mare to the teeming rice farmers. “Th is administration places high priority in the development of agricultural potentials to enhance food security, promotion of self reliance, poverty reduction and provides employment to the temimg unemployed youths” He further disclosed that despite the federal government intervention in quelea bird control, kebbi state government spends over two hundred million naira annually to fi ght the quelea birds to protect farmers from incessant loss of their crops.
Speaking earlier, the Director Produce in the state ministry of Agriculture Alhaji Muhammadu Adamu Dankawu, thanked the state government for the gesture while describing the parasites birds as menace and dangerous. Also speaking the Council Chairman of Bagudo local government Alhaji Abubakar Dantani Zagga, commended the state government eff orts for the annual spray
