Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Thousands of farms have been destroyed by weaver birds in Eastern Equatoria State’s Kapoeta North County, the commissioner said.
According to Commissioner David Nayii, all the farms in the seven payams of Kapoeta North County have been destroyed, leaving farmers devastated.
“People cultivated when the rains started and the crops were doing well, but from last month, birds started destroying farms in all seven payams, and I estimate that 30,000 farms were destroyed,” he said.
The commissioner said people are now forced to survive on wild food and that if there is no humanitarian intervention, families will flee the area in search of food.
“The destruction has already affected the local communities because they have nothing to eat. When the birds came and destroyed everything, people lost hope, and now you find people roaming around the town in search of food, yet this was the season that they are supposed to be happy,” Nayii said. “As the county authorities, we have talked to our partners to see the way forward.”
For his part, Joseph Losike, a farmer in Kapoeta North, told Radio Tamazuj that the birds land on farms in huge flocks, destroying yields and leaving nothing behind. He said he is worried that there will be severe hunger soon.
“The sorghum was maturing, but big flocks of birds that cannot be chased started eating it,” he lamented. “The birds are so many that people have been forced to leave their gardens. Humanitarian agencies should intervene by giving us short-term seeds. People now are only praying to God since there is no way.”
Meanwhile, Angelina Nalar, another farmer, said her children are currently on the street in search of food and urged the government and humanitarian agencies to come to the aid of the people.
“We planted, and the crops germinated well, but the birds destroyed our farms. We are now facing hunger, and we do not have seeds to cultivate even if we clear the destroyed gardens,” she said. “My children and I are now suffering because my husband has 5 wives and 5 gardens, which are now destroyed. My children are now scattered in the streets without food. Humanitarian agencies should support us.”
For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan Follow Africa-Press
