Rodents destroy rice farms in Kebbi

Rice farmers in Kebbi State are currently faced with the menace of rodents ravaging farmlands in Bagudo and Suru Councils, thereby causing low yield at the end of the harvest.

Addressing the affected farmers in Kawara Mairuwa, Suru and Shuwaka villages in Suru Council, the state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Samaila Yombe Dabai, said drastic measures must be taken to dislodge the rodents, so as to continue to enjoy bumper harvest in both raining and wet season farming and for the farmers to have peace of mind.

He said his visit to the area was as a result of a complaint by the farmers to the government for quick intervention.

He said the state government had over the years, done all it could to fight quela birds that also cause nightmares to the teeming rice farmers, adding that the fight was still on through annual aerial spraying of chemicals directly to their hideouts.

On the rodents, Yombe, who is also an aerial spray expert, said a combination of chemicals, including queleatox and rodenticides, had to be combined to fight the rodents, disclosing that the rats has caused a drop of about 10 per cent of the expected yields.