Global Plant Protection News

Laikipia village where farmers sleep in farms to deter jumbos

By CLEMENT MASOMBO | March 26th 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300

The nightly routine of residents of Nginyii village in Umande ward, Laikipia County, has been upended by the invasion of elephants that descend from the nearby Lolldaiga Hills in search of food.

Locals have to brave the cold as they stand guard over their crops of tomatoes, carrots, French beans and other horticultural produce that prove irresistible to the jumbos, which destroy all fences or hedges erected to stop them from eating to their fill.

Rose Wairimu, 75, knows only too well the health issues she’s exposing herself to in the biting cold, but guarding the farms is a communal activity in which everyone is expected to pull their weight.

“They should just come and take away their animals. Since January, these jumbos only failed to invade our farms for one week. That’s the only time we enjoyed our sleep,” Wairimu said.

Despite the night vigils, Wairimu is counting heavy losses after the elephants invaded her tomato farm and laid waste to her crop. Her neighbour, Alex Ngare, did not fare any better after his crop of French beans was destroyed.