Commissioner laments elephants’ invasion in Kebbi

Kebbi state Commissioner for Agriculture, Barrister Attairu Machido yesterday raised alarm over the invasion of elephants on farms in some parts of the state.
The commissioner noted this at the National Agroecology and Climate Justice summit, organised by Action Aid Nigeria in Abuja.
He said it was the first time in the history of the state that elephants would be besieging farms in the state.
He raised concern that for the past two weeks, elephant have been destroying farms in Baguio and Kokobese local government area of Kebbi state, complicating the existing farmers-herders crises bedeviling the state.
He pointed out that they use to have issues with hippopotamus coming to their farms but not as much as the elephants currently destroying the farms.
He disclosed that Kebbi state government had already reported the menace to the Federal Ministry of Environment and have assured the farmers that government would compensate the farmers for the destroyed crops so as to avoid clash between the farmers and the elephants.
The commissioner said the farmers in the past were killing the elephants but with increased awareness and government assurances to compensate them, farmers are now protecting the wild animals He said the Federal and the state ministry of environment have deployed officials to the affected councils to see what could be done to safeguard the situation.
Machido related the development to the problem of climate change as people are being squeezed together because of flood, desertification among other climate change issues in the country

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