NAN-H-26
Locusts
By Mohammed Mamman
Damaturu, Oct. 3, 2016 (NAN) Alhaji Mustapha Gajerima, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Environment in Yobe, on Monday said a rapid response team had been constituted to monitor and tackle swarms of locusts threatening harvests in the state.
Gajerima made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu.
He said that the ministry had sprayed many farmlands against the invasion of locusts and other pests in six local government areas of Damaturu, Yunusari, Bursari, Yusufari, Giedam and Machina.
Gajerima said, “The ministry used motorised and manual methods to spray and tackle the swarms of locusts in good time before they invade the farms.
“In anticipation of possible outbreak of the pests, the state government made early preparation by procuring chemicals in readiness for the emergence of pests and promptly sprayed the affected areas.”
The commissioner said that the team would continue to monitor the movement of pests for quick response to check their menace.
He said that the early preparations and proactive measures taken by the state government had saved many farmlands from the harmful effects of pests on the crops.
“We are happy to have contained the pests and saved the farms for bumper harvests by our farmers which will increase food security and boost economy,” the commissioner said.
He added that the state government would assist farmers with ready made markets to buy off their excess crops for the state’s Strategic Grains Reserve Programme to save for the rainy days.
“This will save farmers from the hands of shylock marketers, who will buy the grains at low prices, create artificial scarcity, then sell at exorbitant rates and cause inflation,” Gajerima said.(NAN)
MM/DUA/GOK
(Edited by Dada Ahmed/controlled by Olagoke Olatoye)
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