The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N13.9 billion for the purchase of insecticides in states affected by quelea birds and grasshoppers.
This was made known to State House correspondents by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, at the close of the weekly FEC meeting, which was presided over by President.
The minister added that part of the money would also be used to purchase drugs for the treatment of animal diseases like rabies.
He said, “We had one memorandum from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and that was on pest control, animal diseases like rabies, lungs and liver diseases as well as quelea birds, especially in the Northeastern part of the country.
“There are 12 frontline states that are being affected by quelea birds, grasshoppers and those that have been pestering us.”
According to the minister, there has been an increase of rabies in the country, a development he said, that had led to some deaths.