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Brachiaria grass used as fodder. [File, Standard]
Taita Taveta County Executive has challenged smallholder farmers in the Taita Hills to put more land under fodder crops and pasture production.
The experts say the move will enhance livelihoods’ income besides reducing persistent human-wildlife conflict in the region.
Stephen Mcharo, the County Chief Officer (CCO) for Agriculture, said there should be a paradigm shift from maize growing to fodder crops in the wake of frequent monkey and baboon invasions of settlement areas, which have badly affected food security in the region that is entirely dependent on rain-fed agriculture.
The CCO noted that apart from the troublesome primates, large reptiles like pythons have become the latest form of human-wildlife conflict in parts of Taita Taveta County.
In some places, Mr Mcharo observed that monkeys have taken control and frequently entered into houses looking for food, with some villagers in Taita Hills reported to have abandoned farming, which is their main economic livelihood.
“The troublesome monkeys have taken over some villages, like Wasinyi and Mranju, among others. If you leave the door and window open for ventilation, they intrude and eat whatever is available. The wild animals have turned rooftops, TV cables and fruit trees to their playing grounds and taken over residential areas as their habitat,” noted Lewis Mzae, a resident in Wundanyi town.
Local residents and leaders noted that frequent invasions of monkeys into farms and homes were troubling them.
The incursion comes amid claims that the primates were recently relocated from outside to the Taita Hills forest, a move that has escalated persistent human-wildlife conflict and badly affected food security in the region, stated Mcharo.
Mzae noted that Monkey’s population has of late kept on growing and the destruction they leave behind is enormous. “We have abandoned farming because of the destructive primates, and we cannot eliminate them because of the punitive Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013,” noted Mzae.
“We did not have monkeys before. They were bought by the KWS in 2013. The primates are causing havoc to our farms and compounding the already existing food insecurity in the region,” charged Peter Mwamburi, another farmer.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Wundanyi town yesterday, the CCO said challenges of frequent invasion of monkeys necessitate the need for farmers to reposition the pasture and fodder value chain in the county, with a view to addressing fodder availability, quality and affordable use.
“Why grow maize which is all destroyed by wild animals? The gross margin analysis shows pasture and fodder farming is profitable, and there is effective demand.
Market analysis further suggests there are significant market opportunities for small-scale fodder farmers if they increase productivity, reduce cost of production, improve quality and safety, and enhance efficiency in marketing,” stated Mcharo.
In an earlier interview, the Kenya Wildlife Service Tsavo Conservation Senior Assistant Director Jillo Arero confirmed that monkeys have become the latest menace in Taita Hills.
The director said they have already written a letter to the National Primate Research Centre (NPRC) for intervention. “The marooning primates cannot survive in the park, and they have invaded Taita Hills for habitat and food. Officials of the NPRC will visit the county soon to give us the way forward,” stated Mr Arero.
As a quick intervention measure, the director said they will partner with CDF committees to plant more tree fruits like guavas and overcasts in Taita Hills forests to help contain the monkeys and help minimise conflict.
“There are over 1000 stray monkeys in Taita Hills, and we are looking for funds to mitigate the conflict. We will also hold consultative meetings with affected residents to find an amicable solution to the wildlife menace.
For us there is nothing that we can do unless we are advised by the NPRC on what to do to these animals,” Arero told The Standard.
“We are ready to relocate the animals if NPRC advises us to do so. In fact, the management of Sokoke Forest in Kilifi County and in Kwale County has told us they require these animals to boost tourism activities,” he said.
“We are considering many options, including relocating monkeys from Taita Hills to other places or planting more fruit trees in Taita Hills Forest to minimise persistent human-wildlife conflict,” said Arero.
Other destructive wild animals include elephants, lions, buffaloes, baboons, hyenas and venomous snakes.
In the lowlands, farmers continue losing lives and properties without compensation from wildlife-related attacks.
Desperate locals have constantly been complaining that the KWS is doing little to stop wildlife invasion and destruction to property in settlement areas besides failing to compensate locals.
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Brachiaria grass used as fodder.
[File, Standard]
Taita Taveta County Executive has challenged smallholder farmers in the Taita Hills to put more land under fodder crops and pasture production.
The experts say the move will enhance livelihoods’ income besides reducing persistent human-wildlife conflict in the region.
Stephen Mcharo, the County Chief Officer (CCO) for Agriculture, said there should be a paradigm shift from maize growing to fodder crops in the wake of frequent monkey and baboon invasions of settlement areas, which have badly affected food security in the region that is entirely dependent on rain-fed agriculture.
The CCO noted that apart from the troublesome primates, large reptiles like pythons have become the latest form of human-wildlife conflict in parts of Taita Taveta County.
In some places, Mr Mcharo observed that monkeys have taken control and frequently entered into houses looking for food, with some villagers in Taita Hills reported to have abandoned farming, which is their main economic livelihood.
“The troublesome monkeys have taken over some villages, like Wasinyi and Mranju, among others. If you leave the door and window open for ventilation, they intrude and eat whatever is available. The wild animals have turned rooftops, TV cables and fruit trees to their playing grounds and taken over residential areas as their habitat,” noted Lewis Mzae, a resident in Wundanyi town.
Local residents and leaders noted that frequent invasions of monkeys into farms and homes were troubling them.
The incursion comes amid claims that the primates were recently relocated from outside to the Taita Hills forest, a move that has escalated persistent human-wildlife conflict and badly affected food security in the region, stated Mcharo.
Mzae noted that Monkey’s population has of late kept on growing and the destruction they leave behind is enormous. “We have abandoned farming because of the destructive primates, and we cannot eliminate them because of the punitive Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013,” noted Mzae.
“We did not have monkeys before. They were bought by the KWS in 2013. The primates are causing havoc to our farms and compounding the already existing food insecurity in the region,” charged Peter Mwamburi, another farmer.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Wundanyi town yesterday, the CCO said challenges of frequent invasion of monkeys necessitate the need for farmers to reposition the pasture and fodder value chain in the county, with a view to addressing fodder availability, quality and affordable use.
“Why grow maize which is all destroyed by wild animals? The gross margin analysis shows pasture and fodder farming is profitable, and there is effective demand.
Market analysis further suggests there are significant market opportunities for small-scale fodder farmers if they increase productivity, reduce cost of production, improve quality and safety, and enhance efficiency in marketing,” stated Mcharo.
In an earlier interview, the Kenya Wildlife Service Tsavo Conservation Senior Assistant Director Jillo Arero confirmed that monkeys have become the latest menace in Taita Hills.
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The director said they have already written a letter to the National Primate Research Centre (NPRC) for intervention. “The marooning primates cannot survive in the park, and they have invaded Taita Hills for habitat and food. Officials of the NPRC will visit the county soon to give us the way forward,” stated Mr Arero.
As a quick intervention measure, the director said they will partner with CDF committees to plant more tree fruits like guavas and overcasts in Taita Hills forests to help contain the monkeys and help minimise conflict.
“There are over 1000 stray monkeys in Taita Hills, and we are looking for funds to mitigate the conflict. We will also hold consultative meetings with affected residents to find an amicable solution to the wildlife menace.
For us there is nothing that we can do unless we are advised by the NPRC on what to do to these animals,” Arero told The Standard.
“We are ready to relocate the animals if NPRC advises us to do so. In fact, the management of Sokoke Forest in Kilifi County and in Kwale County has told us they require these animals to boost tourism activities,” he said.
“We are considering many options, including relocating monkeys from Taita Hills to other places or planting more fruit trees in Taita Hills Forest to minimise persistent human-wildlife conflict,” said Arero.
Other destructive wild animals include elephants, lions, buffaloes, baboons, hyenas and venomous snakes.
In the lowlands, farmers continue losing lives and properties without compensation from wildlife-related attacks.
Desperate locals have constantly been complaining that the KWS is doing little to stop wildlife invasion and destruction to property in settlement areas besides failing to compensate locals.
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By Renson Mnyamwezi