Kisii county residents are now calling on the county government and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to do more to contain the invasion by porcupines that are on the rise and destroying their farm products.
According to David Kombo who is a farmer in the area, the porcupines started during the maize season and now during the potatoes and they badly damage their produce to the extent that they cannot sell them.
“They really destroy like a whole firm and the only problem they come at night, this is giving us losses and we want the county government and the relevant authority, which is the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to look for proper ways that will reduce the numbers that are rising day by day” said Kombo.
According to Iyabe sub-county Agricultural officer Jared Moige, farmers should use natural ways (literally chase them away from their farms) to do away with the porcupines before the county government enter into the progress of clearing them off.
“We have advised farmers to put up scarecrows in their farms for now as we are still looking for a permanent solution on how we can get an advice from KWS officers,” said Moige.
In Kisii most farmers are now harvesting potatoes and pumpkins and this is giving those farmers hard times and great loss due to the damage caused by the destructive porcupine.