A heavy down pour accompanied by Ice Pellets have destroyed more than 300 farms and dozens of houses in several communities across Kafur and Danja Local Government Areas of Katsina State.
Confirming the incident to Radio Nigeria, the Chairman of Kafur Local Government Area, Alhaji Garba Kanya, narrated that the rain lasted over three hours as the snow-like ice droplets littered the streets, farmlands and residential areas in the affected communities.
He listed the wards affected to include Gozaki, Dutsen-Kura, Kanya and the outskirts of Dabai, particularly Gidan Sabo, Kabalawa, Unguwar Tsamiya, Dandabo, Unguwar Maigarma, Unguwar Danwada and Unguwar Wanzamai villages.
Alhaji Garba Kanya explained that farmlands destroyed in the incident had maize, millet, rice, soya beans and pepper plantations.
He estimated that the crops destroyed by the disaster were worth hundreds of millions of Naira.
Meanwhile a farmer from Gozaki community, Kamaluddeen Dauda, told Radio Nigeria during a visit to the village that dozens of herds of livestock were also killed by the ice droplets.
He said more casualties were recorded among poultry chickens and forest birds due to the lingering cold weather that followed the incident.
The farmers are calling on the Katsina State Emergency Management Agency and relevant agencies of the Federal Government to visit the affected communities and assess the level of damage with a view to providing assistance to them.
Cov/Isma’il Adamu