Air and ground operations will commence on Wednesday to eliminate quelea birds and grasshoppers in 11 Northern states in Nigeria at the cost of N251.2 million, the minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Abba Sayyadi Ruma has said.

States to benefit from the operation are Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano and Jigawa in the North-west and Gombe, Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, Taraba and Bauchi in the North-east.

Briefing newsmen on Friday, minister of State for Water Resources, Chief Ademola Seriki who represented the minister, said the action of the federal government was a reaction to requests by "Northern frontline states" who had come under attack by trans-boundary crop pests.

"To ensure food security through prevention of crop destruction by quelea birds and grasshoppers, the federal government has approved a total of 220 flight hours and over 60,000 litres of pesticides to be utilised immediately to control the quelea birds and grasshoppers in the affected frontline states.

"In addition to this aerial spray, the states will be provided with ground control equipment especially manual and motorised sprayers," he said.

According to him, the flight sorties had been contracted to two agro-aviation firms, Yomad Nigeria Limited and Africa Contracts and Equipment Limited while state ministries and federal agriculture officials would "ensure effective monitoring of these service providers so that we can get value for money spent," the minister explained.

The minister lamented that about 40 per cent of crop losses annually was related to pests for which his ministry had responded over the years aerially with limited funds.

"The federal government is examining alternative ways of implementing these activities in a more cost-effective and sustainable manner. Plans are therefore, under way to implement subsequent pest control operations under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement with the stakeholders having clear definition of roles [ie the federal/state/local governments and the private entrepreneurs]," he said.