The government has begun an aerial bird control operation to remove the destructive quelea birds that have invaded rice farms in Kisumu County.
The Ministry of Agriculture is trying to eradicate 5.8 million birds in nine different locations where the birds hide at night.
Two rice schemes are worst affected by the invasion by the birds, according to Kisumu County Executive Member for Agriculture Ken Onyango.
Our farmers have suffered huge losses as some 300 acres of rice fields have been destroyed by the birds with 2,000 more acres under threat, he said.
After receiving reports from field officers, the county government sought help from the national government and a team from Kilimo House arrived at the lakeside city armed with equipment and chemicals.
According to Mr Onyango, the department of crop protection and safety from Nairobi has been dispatched to Kisumu to start a massive campaign to fight the birds through spraying.
The worst-hit region of Nyando is Nyakach and Muhoroni.
The birds have migrated to Okana Irrigation scheme from Kisumu East Sub-County, according to a report from Kisumu County.
It added that our operation covers the National Irrigation Authority area in Muhoroni, Awach Kano, Ogange, Amboo, Okana, Ogongo, Kudho, Haro and Alara.
The crop protection unit said the invasion was due to partial control by the crop protection unit, noting that the last crop protection was done in March 2022.
He said that the surge of birds occurred due to the unsynchronised cropping calendar in the rice schemes and the growing of sorghum in the area.
A typical quelea bird eats around 10 grams of grain per day, and a flock of 2 million birds can eat as much as 20 tons of grain in a single day.