Tsetse fly nets save livestock farmers from losses in Kwale

When retired teacher Masden Njore ventured into farming, he had high hopes for his new adventure.

Upon receiving his retirement benefit, his first thought was to channel it towards a profitable course, and farming was his first choice.

Njore opted to do combined farming, where he did food production as well as livestock keeping.

He started by building a mud shelter for his cows before he brought in his first cow.

He, however, did not calculate the risks that come with dairy farming, especially for farmers living close to forests and national parks.

And a few months later, the retired teacher started counting his losses.

Kwale county is a tsetse-infested zone due to its bordering Shimba Hills National Park.

The blood-sucking flies originate from bushes and secluded places, and any livestock keeping in these areas is bound to fail if safety precautions are not taken.

Njore's cows could not carry pregnancies to term as most would miscarry before time.

“In some instances, the cows would die alongside their unborn calves. I almost lost hope in cow keeping,” he said.

The cows would get sick frequently and require treatment only for the diseases to recur.

“It became very expensive to maintain the cows. At one time, I even thought of selling the only cow that remained,” Njore said.

He once built a semi-permanent structure while thinking the problem lied with the structure as it was made with mud, but things did not change.

His neighbours, who also had cows, gave up and abandoned the venture due to its unending miseries.

Things changed in 2019, when Njore was among a few farmers from Kwale selected to benefit from a project spearheaded by the Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council (Kenttec)

Kenttec provided the farmer with an insecticide-treated net, referred to as Livestock Protective Fence, a net installed in the open space of the cowshed.

The net prevents tsetse flies and other nuisance flies from reaching the dairy animal.

With the protective nets, Njore is already seeing the benefits of the partnership and government efforts to eradicate tsetse flies in Kwale and the entire country in the next five years.

At the moment, one of his cows is expectant and he hopes that for the first time since he began livestock keeping, he will milk his cow.

“I have buried more than six cows that died while pregnant or after giving birth,” he said.

“However, things look promising and I have high hopes that I will be milking my cow in the next few months after years of waiting.”

IMPACT ON ECONOMY

Tsetse flies are common in areas bordering lake regions or wildlife conservation areas, such as parks.

It is estimated that 23 per cent of the country is infested with tsetse flies, with 38 out of 47 counties affected.

At the Coast region, all except Mombasa county are infested with the flies, with the infestation rate standing at between 23 and 40 per cent.

Kenttec estimates that the flies deprive Kenya of about Sh20 billion. The losses are attributed to livestock mortality caused by the flies, livestock which ideally would have been exported.

Across the continent, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reports that the flies occur in 38 countries in Africa and have affected at least 3 million animals in the continent.

FAO estimates the losses to be $6-12 billion, while Kenttec puts the losses at about $4.5 billion.

Kenttec CEO Dr Pauline Olet said the flies have denied Kenya an opportunity to export livestock and livestock products.

“Animals diagnosed with trypanosomiasis fetch lower prices and in some instances, they lose their market value,” she said.

This is because the animals have poor body conditions, making them and their products unsuitable for slaughter or milk not only for the Kenyan market but also for exportation purposes.

Olet further said the flies have caused losses of funds through the import of drugs used to treat tsetse-caused diseases on animals and on humans called sleeping sickness.

She said the tsetse flies disease causes miscarriages and reduction of milk in animals.

The flies also prevent farmers from grazing in certain areas, where the infestation risk is high.

They have also led to an insufficient food supply in areas infested as farmers cannot take the animals to plough their lands.

Scientists say tsetse flies are mostly active during sunrise and sunset hours, which are the same time farmers are expected to plough the farms using their cows.

As a result, most farmers opt to have their animals remain in their shelters instead of risking by taking them out to the farm.

ERADICATION PLAN

Dr Olet say the government plans to eradicate tsetse flies in the next five years, a plan they intend to include in their new strategy starting from 2023 as the current strategy is expected to end in 2022, having run from 2018.

In the past ongoing strategy, which ran between 2013 and 2017, the council was able to suppress the population of the bloodsucking flies in Lake Victoria and Bogoria, Mwea and Meru regions, which in return resulted in the increase of livestock productivity.

The CEO said the current strategy is moving towards eradicating the tsetse flies and the diseases that come with the flies.

“Tsetse flies are the only obstacle towards large livestock keeping. But the partnership between Kenttec and other stakeholders will ensure total eradication,” she said.

Olet said getting rid of the flies will also eradicate poverty in the infested areas.

“Some African countries, such as Botswana, have done away with the flies, and that is why they are among the top exporters of livestock products,” she said.

Other countries that have eliminated the flies are Namibia and Tanzania, which committed to eradicating the flies in Zanzibar.

Kenya's plan comes with challenges such as funding for researches and the implementation of innovations to benefit the common farmers, Olet said.

The CEO said the funding has significantly been reduced from Sh600 million in 2013 to Sh250 million in 2017, and the government continues to reduce its budget every year.

EQUIPPING FARMERS

The war on tsetse flies continues, all the same. Johanna Cheptoo, the Coastal regional coordinator, said Kenttec is issuing protective nets to farmers across Kwale county.

Cheptoo said they also teach the farmers how to instal the nets as well as protect the livestock.

“Our efforts are complementing efforts by the county government to ensure the animals are productive to the farmer,” he said.

Even though Kenttec issues the protective nets to farmers, for sustainability purposes, they have empowered them with information of where to get the nets.

Cheptoo said they have gone a step further by establishing a laboratory in Ukunda, where animals suspected of infection undergo blood tests before they are treated.

This is a major contrast to previous years, where animals were treated blindly.

This way, it has been easy for veterinaries to know what exactly they are treating and to also keep records of patterns of diseases in an area.

“Once we confirm the presence of trypanosomiasis, then our veterinarians come and treat the animals accordingly,” Cheptoo said.

For now, cows belonging to at least 40 farmers are under Kenttec surveillance, having benefitted from its various programmes, such as the protective nets.

With the availability of trap nets, which are used in trapping tsetse flies, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) is working on providing repellants and attracters.

Kalro senior scientist Paul Mireji, also a team leader of Bioinnovate Africa project, said they intend to use the repellants to keep off flies from animals and also use attracters in bringing closer the flies before are arrested into the trap nets.

Mireji said the repellants will ensure animals are not affected by flies that might escape the net.

“[We are studying] the possibility of our repellant being effective on both tsetse flies and ticks," he said.

On the attracter, he said the flies will be trapped into the trap before they are eliminated physically.

With the attracters, which are usually set out near or close to the source of the flies alongside the net trap, tsetse flies are expected to significantly reduce.

“We will be using the push and pull system, where attracter will attract the flies while repellants will also be preventing the flies from reaching the animal and instead direct them to the trap,” Mireji said.

The modern repellants and attracters are already being piloted at Shimba Hills National Park.

If successful, they will be replicated in other counties and beyond.

Edited by T Jalio