Etche Farmers Count Losses After Windstorm

Farmers in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State are counting their loses following a heavy windstorm  that destroyed farm crops and other economic trees in the area on Monday.
Our correspondent  who monitored the  development reports that plantains, pear trees and farm crops were mainly affected.
Apart from the  economic trees and crops, two houses were equally  damaged in Mba town.
Chief  Nnadozie Nwuzi told The Tide   in Mba that the first rain that fell in the area had become a curse  to farmers as property worthy millions were lost due to the windstorm that  came with the storm.
“You can barely see any plantain tree standing because the windstorm destroyed  them en mass, so also pear trees and other economic trees.
“This is coming few days after a wild  fire burnt large portions of farmland due for cultivation”, he said.
Some of the affected farmers who  spoke to The Tide narrated their experience and explained that the wild fire and  windstorm would affect their  harvest in this farming season.
Chairman, Etche Farmers Co-operatives  Association, Mr Godwin Akandu told The Tide that the development is a set back in view of  the great  loss incurred by his members.
Commenting on the wild  fire,  Akandu condemned  the attitude of some  elements in the  society  who were in the habit of handling fire sources carelessly.
He said, so far, those behind  the fire incident have not  been identified  and regretted that farmers in the area suffer such loses yearly.
The farmers’ boss stressed the need for communities  to punish persons found to be burning farm lands indiscriminately  to  check the ugly trend.