Bird invasion ravages 250 hectares of Zamfara farmland, threatening food supply

A massive bird invasion has destroyed crops across more than 250 hectares of farmland under the Bakalori Irrigation Scheme in Zamfara State, with over 1,500 farmers affected in what could further worsen food production in one of Nigeria’s key agricultural states.

The development was disclosed on Thursday by the Chairman of the Bakalori Water Users Association, Malam Yakubu Yahaya, while speaking with journalists in Talata Mafara.

He appealed for urgent intervention from both the state and federal governments to prevent further destruction of farmlands across Talata Mafara, Bakura and Maradun Local Government Areas.

Although the affected crops were not specified, Zamfara is one of Nigeria’s major agricultural-producing states, with farmers cultivating staples such as millet, sorghum (guinea corn), maize, rice and beans, raising concerns that continued bird attacks could affect food supply and farmers’ livelihoods.

What they are saying

Yahaya said farmers have deployed different measures to drive away the birds, but the efforts have proved ineffective as the infestation continues to spread across cultivated fields.

• He said the scale of destruction has become alarming, noting that the birds have already wiped out crops on more than 250 hectares of farmland.

  “As I speak, birds have destroyed farm produce on over 250 hectares. Millions of birds are directly consuming our farm products,” he said.

He warned that unless authorities respond swiftly, the losses could extend beyond Zamfara’s farming communities and have wider economic consequences.

• “If this situation is not addressed urgently, it will be a major setback to the state and national economy,” he warned.

The Acting Director of Bird Control at the Zamfara State Ministry of Agriculture, Alhaji Mahe Bala, confirmed the invasion, saying the state government had received reports from affected communities and had escalated the matter to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for urgent intervention.

Get up to speed

The latest invasion is far from an isolated incident, as outbreaks of crop-destroying birds have repeatedly threatened agricultural production in several northern states.

• In 2023, Alhaji Umar Na’amore, a member representing Argungu Constituency in the Kebbi State House of Assembly, appealed to both the federal and state governments to conduct aerial pesticide spraying after quelea birds devastated rice farms in the area.
• He said the birds had destroyed crops across about 95,000 hectares of dry-season rice fields, warning that the losses could undermine food security in Kebbi and beyond.
• The quelea bird, native to sub-Saharan Africa, is regarded as the world’s most abundant wild bird species. According to the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), its population can reach as high as 1.5 billion after breeding seasons, making it one of the most destructive pests for cereal crops across the continent.

The threat has persisted in recent years. Reports in 2025 documented recurring invasions of quelea birds across rice-producing communities in Adamawa, Taraba, Sokoto, Jigawa and Yobe, where farmers said the birds were capable of stripping entire fields within minutes. The repeated attacks have increasingly been identified as one of the factors contributing to reduced harvests and food shortages in affected regions.

What you should know

The latest destruction of farmlands comes at a time when concerns over food insecurity are already intensifying across northern Nigeria.

Earlier this month, the World Food Programme (WFP) disclosed that it requires $89 million over the next six months to sustain emergency food assistance, nutrition programmes and critical logistics operations across conflict-affected northern states.

• The UN agency warned that more than 17 million Nigerians in northern Nigeria are currently facing acute food insecurity as conflict, displacement and inadequate humanitarian funding continue to disrupt food production and access to basic necessities.
• The situation is particularly severe in Borno State, where more than three million people are estimated to be food insecure, including over 750,000 experiencing severe hunger and more than 10,000 facing catastrophic levels of food deprivation.

Although about 6.2 million people across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe require food assistance, the WFP says current funding allows it to reach only around 740,000 beneficiaries, significantly lower than the 1.3 million people supported during the peak of the 2025 lean season. Against this backdrop, fresh crop losses from bird invasions could place additional pressure on food supplies and rural livelihoods.