This archive report was first published on 28 July 2019.
July 28, 2019, Kisumu County - In a desperate bid to protect their crops, farmers in Miguye village have turned to an unlikely solution: vuvuzelas.
According to Elizabeth Ojina, the birds, mainly weaver birds, descend on the land around 6am, leaving destruction in their wake. The farmers, led by Geoffrey Kungu, have resorted to using vuvuzelas to scare the birds away.
"We arrived here at 5am. Chasing the birds is a tedious job but what other choice do we have?" Mr Kungu asked.
The birds, which include the destructive Sudan Dioch (Quelea quelea ethiopica) species, have been causing significant damage to the sorghum fields, with about 350 acres of mature sorghum destroyed in the past two weeks.
Obudo Border Co-operative Society chairman Vincent Okwaro has appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture and county government officials to come to the farmers' rescue, warning that they may not harvest anything if the situation is not addressed.
Large scale sorghum growing is part of Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o's agriculture programme, which was launched in March last year. The programme aims to promote consumption of the grain and enhance food production, but the bird menace has put a significant dent in the farmers' efforts.
