Nigeria locust invasion raises fear of food shortage

Authorities in northwestern Nigeria said today they needed international assistance to help them cope with a locust invasion threatening to devastate crops and cause food shortages.

“We have to do something quickly so that we don’t have a repeat of what is happening in neighbouring Niger”, said Abdullahi Zuru, spokesman for the northwestern Nigerian state of Kebbi.

Drought and locust invasions have caused a food crisis in southern Niger - bordering Kebbi – that has left 3.6 million people hungry.

“We would need help from the federal government and international agencies to fight this menace,” Zuru said.

While locust attacks are an annual affair in Kebbi, this year they are much bigger than usual, he said, adding that so far the state has spent over £57,000 on farm chemicals to stave off the threat.

“We were expecting a bumper harvest here because the rains came in good time,” Zuru said.

“All that is being threatened now.”