FG commences another aerial spray of quelea birds

He said the ministry is embarking on the program this time around so that it can kill the birds through the spray of chemicals to guard against destroying crops during the ongoing harvest and also prevent the birds or reduce their population against any possible incursion during the forthcoming dry season farming.Waziri expressed concern that […]

He said the ministry is embarking on the program this time around so that it can kill the birds through the spray of chemicals to guard against destroying crops during the ongoing harvest and also prevent the birds or reduce their population against any possible incursion during the forthcoming dry season farming.
Waziri expressed concern that the birds are already matured and may start mating to lay eggs for multiplication, adding, “If we are able to do a good spray on their roots, the possibility is that we’ll inhibit the hatching of these eggs as well as getting rid of the hatching if at all they’ll hatch. Once their population is reduced, the dry season farming will be enhanced.”
He said qualea birds attack is common in the North-east region as the birds migrate from Niger and Chad Republics to destroy crops thereby affecting bumper harvest in the zone, saying, “With the availability of cereal food crops, these birds will come in here and settle and the problem with qualea birds control is that once the environment is topped, there is the tendency for them to disperse. So, as we are attacking them here in Gombe, Bauchi is already in trouble because they will go down the valley settle there and cause trouble for the farmers,” he said.
Commenting, Gombe State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Buba Biri, who was represented by the Director of Agriculture, Mr. Benjamin Wabida, said the state is ever ready to render all the necessary support and cooperation needed for the success of the program in the state by complementing the efforts of the federal government in fighting the birds.