Quelea birds reported in four provinces

Precious Manomano

Herald Reporter

Quelea birds have been reported in the country’s four provinces and Government has intensified efforts to protect wheat in those areas.
The birds have been spotted in Manicaland (Arda Transau, Mutare), Matabeleland South (Ndambe Phase 2 Irrigation Scheme, Amazon Irrigation Scheme), Mashonaland Central (Mazowe, Bindura, Kunatsa Estates, Wapley Farm, Shamwa) and Mashonaland West (Darwendale).

Scouting for new roosting sites in all provinces across the country is ongoing.

The country is expecting a bumper harvest of 600 000 tonnes of wheat from the 121 000ha planted.

However, this can only be achieved if measures are put in place to deal with the birds.

An average quelea bird eats around 10 grams of grain per day while a flock of two million birds can devour as much as 20 tonnes of grain in a single day.

Director in the Department of Migratory Pests and Biosecurity Control, Mr Shingirai Nyamutukwa urged farmers to be on the look-out for the birds saying this will help authorities to identify and deploy control chemicals to the right places.

He said they have recruited 21 technicians who will use motorised sprays and drones to control the pests.

“We have teams on the ground to assess the situation. We have also formed command centres to get reports of the birds,” he said.

“People should report to the extension officers so that chemicals are deployed immediately. This will allow the staff to attend the scene timeously,” said Mr Nyamutukwa.

The red-billed quelea is a small weaverbird that is renowned for attacking small-grain crops.

It is the most copious bird species in the world, with a peak population estimated at 1,8 billion.