Intro:
Rice farmers in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, are sounding the alarm once again as an invasive snail species continues to wipe out their crops a crisis that has persisted since 2018 with no effective solution in sight.
Highlights:
- Mwea farmers have battled a snail infestation since 2018.
- The pests are destroying rice paddies across Kirinyaga’s irrigation scheme.
- Farmers say the government has failed to offer a lasting solution.
- The snails multiply rapidly and are resistant to basic control measures.
- Crop losses are threatening food security and farmer livelihoods.
Main Story:
Farmers in the Mwea Irrigation Scheme are growing desperate as a devastating snail invasion continues to ruin their rice fields. The invasive species, identified as the golden apple snail, first appeared in 2018 and has since multiplied at alarming rates, destroying thousands of acres of rice every planting season.
Despite multiple complaints, local farmers say the authorities have offered only short-term fixes that do little to stop the pest’s advance. “We are tired. Every season we lose crops, and nothing is changing,” one farmer said
Mwea is Kenya’s largest rice-growing region, supplying up to 80% of the country’s locally grown rice. The ongoing snail infestation now threatens not only regional livelihoods but also national food security, with the cost of rice imports already on the rise.
Farmers report spending thousands on chemicals and manual labour to control the pests efforts that often fail due to the snail’s ability to hide in mud and regenerate quickly.
Farmers’ groups and local leaders are now demanding that the Ministry of Agriculture step in with a well-funded, long-term intervention. Proposals include biological control methods, better research, and tighter regulation on water movement within the scheme to curb the spread.
Without intervention, experts warn that rice farming in Mwea could collapse within a few years, leaving thousands of families without income and the country increasingly dependent on imports.
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How long can Mwea’s rice farmers keep fighting before the snails win for good?
