Mary Muturi used to keep local breed of cattle, grow maize and cowpeas in her 10-acre piece of land.
The 48-year-old farmer from the arid and semi arid region of Makima, Embu county, was frustrated by tsetse fly infestation; she almost lost hope in farming.
That hope would be kept alive, albeit for a short period, by relief food from the government and other well wishers.
Mwea game reserve was heavily infested by the savannah tsetse flies that transmits trypanosomiasis in animals and sleeping sickness in human beings.
Like other farmers, her animals were dying from the deadly fly’s bite.
“This area was highly infested by tsetse fly. Our animals kept dying and productivity went down,” recalls Muturi.
That was then. Farmers are now reaping big from dairy farming, thanks to an ambitious tsetse fly eradication programme.
“We are now able to keep dairy cattle since the intervention has kept the tsetse population to almost zero in our farmlands. This region was food insecure, but now I am able to produce food for home consumption and sell the rest in Embu market. I harvest between 10-15 sacks of maize per season and 5-6 sacks of french beans,” says Muturi, who has three dairy cows. She earns approximately Sh20,000 per month from the sale of milk.
She plans to add more dairy cows in her zero grazing unit. “More dairy cows means increased income since there are no tsetse flies,” she says.
Livestock PS Prof Fred Segor said creating disease free zones will improve animal health, food safety and livelihoods.
“Low incidence of tsetse fly has resulted in improved livelihoods of farmers who have now diversified their economic activities,” said Segor.
Dr Pamela Olet, chief executive Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council, says trypanosomiasis is an problem that is a constraint to socio-economic development.
Livestock population and productivity have registered significant improvement while land under crop has tripled. Land area under cereals alone increased from 7,020 acres in 2009 to over 21,000 acre.
Around 138,000 square kilometres of Kenya’s landmass is tsetse infested affecting 38 out of the 47 counties.
Dr Olet says that alone has a ripple effect on realising a profitable agricultural production in the affected counties.
“We are dealing with a problem that is bigger that HIV/Aids, because it affects the whole livelihoods of human beings and animals,” she says.
A baseline survey of trypanosomiasis in animals carried in the game reserve by Kenttec in 2007 found that 15.6 per cent were positive, says Joseph Gitau Mbau, regional co-ordinator for Meru/Mwea region. “We carried out four baseline surveys; the entomological, parasitological, socio-economic survey and environmental survey before embarking on eradication process,” says Mbau.
Eradication measures, he says, employed three phases; sensitizing the community, capacity building and providing farmers living around the park with pumps to spray their animals.
The ‘targets’ are sprayed with acedone, a chemical whose scent attracts the flies and kills them instantly.
According to Mbau, targets are set in a manner that they rotate with the help of the wind to confuse the tsetse flies which mistake the clothes for an animal.
“Around 450 insecticide treated targets had been deployed inside the park, while farmers living outside the park were encouraged to spray their livestock,” Mbau explained.
In 2011, for example, the state corporation carried out a massive treatment for all animals around the park, but although the region has recorded a near-zero presence of the flies, Mbau says that incidences of trypanosomiasis are still recorded.
“There is a livestock market in Masinga area which harbours animals from as far as Isiolo, Garrisa and Merti. When these animals penetrate to the community, they transmit the disease,” he explains.
Already the fruits of these concerted efforts are being felt in Ruma National Park in Lambwe Valley, Lake Bogoria and Meru National Park, thanks to increased wildlife populations. “We have introduced wildlife species sensitive to tsetse and trypanosomiasis such as the black rhino which has greatly boosted tourism in Lambwe valley,” said Dr Gideon Wathe Nzau, Kenttec chairman.