Swarms of red-billed workers regularly hover over the Kisumu region in western Kenya. These birds, as cute as they are, devastate everything, reducing entire crops to nothing. Farmers feel helpless.
“Western Kano alone produces 500,000 kilos of rice a year, but three-quarters are eaten by birds. Our farmers borrow money from the bank and after borrowing they intend to repay, but with the interest. But this situation is an obstacle in terms of repayment and now we are drowning in loans”, explains Jared Odoyo, president of West Kano Irrigation Scheme.
To alleviate the problem, the authorities, therefore, authorized the spraying of Fenthion, an insecticide that kills harmful birds.
For Paul Gacheru, the government simply opted for a quick solution. He would like a more in-depth reflection to be initiated so that everyone finds their benefit, from birds to farmers, to the ecosystem as a whole.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a single red-billed worker can eat up to 10 grams of grain in a day.