Maize stalk borers and monkeys have invaded farms in Kibingo village, Gatundu North.
Residents are now staring at a prolonged famine since the pests and the monkeys have damaged huge portions of their farms.
Speaking to journalists who visited their farms, the farmers said the primates eat anything edible on their farms, including maize shoots, bananas, sweet potatoes, arrow roots, cassava, avocados and macadamia nuts.
Resident Veronica Muthoni said the stalk borers and monkeys have been her worst nightmares for two years. She said she has not harvested anything from her one-acre land for three seasons.
“We depend on our farms, but we have been turned into beggars by the monkeys and the pests that have invaded our farms. The little maize that survives the pests is destroyed by the monkeys," Muthoni said.
She said the monkeys also go to their homes and eat any food they come across.
“They do not fear women, and they move in groups of more than 30 monkeys. We fear they might harm and our children. We really need help from the authorities,” Muthoni said.
Resident Mary Ngige said most farmers in the village are elderly and cannot afford to buy pesticides to control the pests.
Ngige said they have tried to use traditional methods of controlling the pests by using ash and soil, but this has not been ineffective.
“Most of us suffer from diseases associated with old age and the little money we have, we use it on medicine. Pesticides are too costly, with some costing as much as Sh1,200,” she said.
“Last season I harvested only one kilo of maize from my 1.5 acres down from the eight bags the previous season. This time I don’t think I’ll harvest anything. Right now we are buying our food,”
She said if she fails to harvest anything this season, she will abandon maize farming until the Agriculture ministry provides a solution to control the pests.
Farmer Elizabeth Njeri said their efforts to reach out to agricultural extension officers and the county government have been unsuccessful.
“We have suffered enough, and we wonder who’ll listen to our plight and save us from the agony of losing our crops that we have toiled and moiled for to pests and monkeys,” she said.
She said residents tried to chase away the monkeys using dogs, but the primates pelted the canines with bricks and stones.
“Dogs have run away. When the monkeys are in our farms destroying crops, no dog can bark because that would be suicidal,” Njeri said.
The worried residents urged the Agriculture ministry and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to provide them with pesticides and help control the monkeys.
