Farmers celebrate death of tse-tse flies

Oxen pull a plough on a farm in Makima, Embu County. Livestock health in the area has improved after tse-tse flies were eradicated through a Kenya Tse-tse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council intervention. [PHOTO: JOSEPH MUCHIRI/STANDARD]

Gibson Chege, the manager of 1,000 acres of land under agriculture in Embu, remembers 2007 as the year when not even one cow under his care produced milk. Not even one litre.

That year, tse-tse flies reigned supreme in the area.

“The flies were solely responsible for this. It is only after the project to eradicate the flies  began that farmers from this area got a reprieve. The campaign to rid this area of tse-tse flies has been successful, which explains the current high production for both plants and animals,” says Dr Francis Nyaga, the chief of agriculture in Embu County.

Today, Chege receives nothing less than 12 litres from each cow every day. As the manager of Viba Farm, owned by the Catholic Diocese of Embu, Chege is happy that the situation has turned around for the better.

“The flies not only affected livestock; even crop production was gravely affected. It is the same animals that we use to plough land. Animals which have been bitten by the flies can’t be used on the farm. At the same time, farmers bitten by the flies fall ill; their man-hours are greatly reduced,” says Chege.

The tse-tse fly is an oddball among disease vectors. The fly carries the parasite for sleeping sickness, which puts an estimated 70 million people in sub-Saharan Africa at risk. And since the disease also affects livestock, it makes animal husbandry all but impossible.

Since last year, when Embu was declared tse-tse fly free, thanks to the efforts between Kenya Tse-tse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council (Kenttec) and the Government, Chege has recorded incredible harvests.

“Every day we produce, on average, 20 tonnes of baby corn, one tonne of chili and three to six tonnes of French beans,” he says. “Four years ago, when the farm began, we hardly produced anything.” Not very far from the farm, Margaret Wangari, owns three exotic bulls. She is happy that business is booming. She charges Sh3,000 per acre to plough land for her customers. Her bulls can comfortably manage two acres in a single day. On a good day, therefore, the married mother of five pockets a cool Sh6,000.

“I know firsthand the effects the flies have on cattle. They render them useless on the farm. Tse-tse flies have affected my cattle for many years, but now that the flies have been wiped out, I can certainly say I am reaping the rewards,” she says.

The insect affects a big chunk of Africa. According to Kenttec CEO Prof Pamela Olet, the team used the “target” method to bring down the fly population. The method involves use of light blue and black targets, which attract the flies and lures them to their death.

A tse-tse fly’s bite has parasites (trypanosomes), which causes sleeping sickness in humans, and nagana in animals – mostly cows, horses, donkeys and pigs. Symptoms typically are confusion, sensory disturbances and poor co-ordination in humans, and fever, weakness and anaemia in animals. If left untreated, trypanosomiasis can be fatal.