By Sam Kayode
The Rice growing community of Dikwa has heaved a sigh of relief as 18,000 heads of families have been supported with foodstuffs to assist them survive the massive loss of this year’s harvest to quelea birds.
The support was supervised personally by the Borno state Governor Prof Babagana Zulum who distributed the food items to heads of families at a large arena in front of the Palace of the Shehu of Dikwa
Dikwa town was badly affected by the raid of its trade mark rice farms when the ravenous quelea birds descended and inflicted incalculable damage on them.
These birds were believed to have joined some other dangerous pests which destroyed most of the farmlands on which over 90 percent of the community rely on for their livelihoods.
Zulum, who oversaw the distribution Monday morning, expressed deep concern for the affected families which he felt have been consistent about farming rice and other allied grains over the years.
He explained that the intervention was necessary to avert a food crisis and provide immediate relief to those whose livelihoods were destroyed.
Zulum stressed that his administration implemented measures to strengthen agriculture, particularly mechanisms for pest control, mitigating cases of farmers losing their outputs.
“The last time we distributed items in Dikwa was about 18 months ago. Because we believe there is an improved security situation in the state, and people have started cultivating their farmlands, we have reduced the distribution of humanitarian support by 90 per cent.
“But this morning, we came to Dikwa to support them because of the drought that affected them last year. The invasion of pests and quelea birds affected their farmlands, leading to the farmers losing a significant portion of their farm outputs.”
Governor Zulum expressed delight in the residents’ engagement in farming activities this season.
The Governor also distributed over N350 million to 35,000 women in Dikwa town as part of his administration’s emergency relief to the vulnerable communities.
Each of the 35,000 women received N10,000 cash and a wrapper in addition to the two bags of rice and sorghum each received by the 18,000 male heads of households.
The damage these destructive birds cause is immense, as a matter of fact, estimated to cost the continent of Africa around $88.6 million annually.