Locusts ravage crops in Kano, Zamfara
FIELDS of crops have been devastated in the northern part of the country by locusts swarming across West Africa.
According to the Zamfara State spokesman, Ibrahim Birnin-Magaji, "the destruction done by the locusts is enormous, as several farms have been eaten up."
His counterpart in Sokoto where the locusts are also wreaking havoc, Mustapha Shehu, said: "For the past six days, locusts have been ravaging farmland in the Isa, Sabon Birni, Goronyo and Wurno local council (areas). A lot of farms have been destroyed."
He said that the state had leased aircraft to spray pesticides, but this would not be effective unless neighbouring states co-operate.
Mauritania remains the worst affected country, with officials saying that up to 80 per cent of the harvest has been eaten and one million people could need food aid.
According to a report, the swarms reached Nigeria as the United Nations (UN) made an urgent appeal for $100 million to help curtail them.
The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has also said that the situation could worsen, with new swarms forming.
After visiting Darfur on Wednesday, FAO director, Jacques Diouf, regretted that earlier warnings from his agency had gone unheeded.
"Our first request (in early July) was for $9 million, but as the funds did not arrive, the scale of the problem now calls for $100 million," he said.
He said this could be the worst locust invasion since 1987-9, when "$600 million and five years of struggle was necessary."
Locusts have also landed in vast numbers in Chad, Mali, Niger and Senegal.
There are also fears that they could spread into Sudan's troubled Darfur region, where tens of thousands are at risk from war, disease and hunger.
The FAO's Clive Elliott said the locusts are likely to stop once they reach Sudan until the end of the summer and then start to breed again.
If the vegetation dries up due to lack of rain, he said, they would then move in search of food across the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia. This is unlikely to happen before October.
Major foods such as cassava and millet are being damaged, These are cash crops vital for export earnings.
Locusts can eat their own weight in food every day, which means a single swarm can consume as much food as several thousand people.
The eventual extent of the damage depends largely on the weather. The more it rains, the more the locusts will breed as they travel.
