Ministry heightens fight against Quelea birds

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Ministry heightens fight against Quelea birds
Ministry heightens fight against Quelea birds

Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Ministry of Agriculture is heightening efforts to deal with Quelea birds which have been destroying crops in Singida region.

Singida District Council Agriculture Officer Natalia Mosha said they have started spraying pesticides in a bid to eradicate such the destructive birds.

The exercising of spraying had started in Merya ward and is currently continuing to various parts of Singida region.

She noted that the government’s decision to eradicate quelea birds has brought relief to farmers as the birds caused havoc.

The birds had destroyed 920 hectares of farms which is equivalent to 32 per cent of all cultivated areas in Singida district council and the most affected wards are Merya, Itaja, Ngimu and Mihunga.

For his part, Laurent Zumba from the plant health and crops division in the Ministry of Agriculture said the pesticides have been sprayed on the affected areas.

According to him, spraying exercise was carried out in the morning and evening hours which are the right tome to undertake the exercises.

“Quelea birds are likely to attack grain crops including rice, wheat, sorghum and millet, these birds prefer to sleep in different places where they are looking for food. So it needs to be investigated to determine where they sleep and then the drone starts spraying at the right time,” said Mr Zumba.

Zumba noted that one quelea bird is capable of destroying between five and ten grams per day and they enter the field in groups, they attack quickly and thus endanger the farmer’s ability to get reliable crops and put the country at risk of food insecurity and that is why the ministry is dealing with them.

For their part, residents in Singida rural residents congratulated the government’s on its decision to deal with the birds as they have been causing them huge losses.

A farmer from Pohama village in Ngimu ward, Grabriel Saidi, said the government’s decision had restored confidence in farmers that their crops would not be damaged again.

“I am very grateful to President Samia Suluhu Hassan as the government has heard our cries and has brought this pesticide spraying drone to destroy kweleakwelea completely,” he said.

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