Peasant farmers from Khayanga village in Nasianda sub location, Likuyani Sub County are worried over monkeys that have invaded their farms destroying young crops and threatening farming in the area.
Speaking to West Media, the farmers led by Mr. Hesbon Kegoye expressed their disappointment over damages caused by the animals on their farms.
They said they are staring starvation in the face as their hopes of harvesting this season were minimal due to the monkey invasion.
The residents who mainly rely on the crops to support their families said the monkeys were destroying their maize immediately they start forming cobs and other crops such as bananas, mangoes, avocados, millet among other fruits.
They said they fear that they may not have a good harvest this season if the situation was left unchecked.
“We invested a lot of money to plough, buy seeds and fertilizer, plant, weed and top-dress our crops but all this has gone to waste, we are now incurring enormous losses. What you see here in our farms are only a decoration of standing stems with nothing on them,” said Mr. Kegoye who regretted that this was happening when the residents are feeling the burden of the high cost of living caused by the Corona pandemic.
Mrs. Emmily Wamalwa said the monkeys have also become a nuisance in their homes where they invade to scavenge for food.
“If you leave your doors open you get your house taken over by the uninvited guests foraging inside,” said Mrs. Wamalwa .
Her sentiments were echoed by Mr. Samuel Kimani who said he is counting losses running to millions of shillings after his avocado, mangoes, banana and other fruits meant for export were destroyed.
He said they have made numerous attempts to scare away the monkeys using dogs but this has not worked.
The farmers are now appealing to the relevant government body to assist in chasing the animals away before the human/wildlife conflict gets out of hand, threatening to kill them if no step is taken.
“We can’t allow the monkeys to make us beggars when we can produce enough food for ourselves, we will kill them if they are not removed from our farms,” they said.
Edward Obaga a village elder lamented that the animals which are moving in large numbers were also daring and becoming a danger to women and children in the area.