Posted on October, 14, 2019 at 09:14 am
By AGATHA NGOTHO Science Writer - The Star
It's the attack of the quelea quelea birds.
Red-billed quelea quelea birds are causing destruction in the Mwea Irrigation Scheme where rice farmers are counting losses. And elsewhere.
The birds are a menace to rice and other small-grain farming. Farmers have had to hire people to scare away the birds to prevent them from devouring crops.
John Kimani, a rice breeder for the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation, said hiring human scarecrows has increased the cost of production, which is currently Sh60,000 to Sh70,000 per acre.
This cost includes land preparation, buying seeds, planting, weeding, applying fertiliser and guarding crops against the birds.
“Scaring the birds away from the farms is an extra cost to the farmers because one needs at least two people to guard one acre for about 45 days. Each is paid Sh400 per day,” Kimani said.
He said the voracious bird attacks the crop mainly in the morning and at the ‘milk stage’ when the grains have started forming.
Kimani explained that at this stage, the crop contains a delicious milky substance that the birds like, hence, the damage.
“This is what farmers look out for to know if the crop is under attack, and when they see the white milky dust, they employ casual labourers to scare away the birds,” Kimani said.
“A farmhand can only do much but using a drone to scare away the birds far away into the forest would be effective. It would also be less labour intensive and more cost effective as they will only need to hire one person to manage the drone," he said..
Kimani said farmers can come together in farmers’ organisations or have an arrangement with counties or the national government to help them get a drone, as a short-term solution.
In addition, the breeder said, the crop protection department should come in and support farmers by driving the birds away with an aeroplane or a noisemaker in their nesting ground.
“By the time the birds return to invade the farms, farmers will have harvested their crops,” he said.
New variety
As a longterm measure, Kimani said breeders are developing a rice variety to thwart the birds.
The new variety has a pointed-flag leaf that has a sharp end like a needle that pricks the birds and scares them off.
This helps to protect the panicle (which contains the grain).
“So when the birds try to eat the grains in the panicle, they will be hurt, hence, no attack on the crop. This is a sustainable way to solve the problem, he said.
He said one bird can eat 20 grams in a day. “And because the birds travel in flocks of three million or more, the damage can be massive — nearly 30,000 kilos per day. The damage can be substantial to an extent that farmers do not harvest anything,” Kimani said.
He said the birds attack mainly the basmati rice variety, which people also prefer.
So breeders are developing varieties with the special feature of the erectile flag leaf, while they maintain the yield and grain quality.
Kimani explained that the panicle (grain) of the basmati rice is just at the top so it is exposed and easily eaten, but the pointed, spear-like one will drive off the birds.
Grain quality is crucial when it comes to the rice market and consumption. The variety will still have the basmati traits that include long white narrow grains and the aroma that is an important component in the market.
The other trait is the biomass for livestock feeds because it is soft for the animals to eat and has some nutrients. Kimani said all these traits will be incorporated in the new variety for market acceptability.
He said the varieties are currently under experiment at Mwea, Busia and in the Coast region rice trial sites.
“We are at the multi-location stage to test whether the varieties can perform in other areas besides Mwea, Busia and Coast where the research took place," the expert said.
The next stage will be the National Performance Trial carried out by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service. After that the variety will be released to farmers depending on the evaluation of the release process.
"But ultimately it will be out there," Kimani said.
If the resources are available, the varieties can be released to farmers in the next three years.
"But if we don't get the funding then there will be a delay in releasing the new rice variety to farmers,” Kimani said.
Sidebar
The quelea quelea bird — small but mighty
•A small red-billed and greyish weaver bird about 12cm long and weighing15-26 grams (tiny but deadly).
• It is native to sub-Saharan Africa and attacks small-grain crops like wheat, rice and sorghum.
• The bird is seasonal and in the past, it was spotted once in four to three years. Currently there are frequent attacks, rice breeders say.
• Encroachment and issues of climate change have interfered with the bird’s natural habitat hence the increased frequency, which is becoming a big threat to rice production.
• Solutions. Short-term: human scarecrows, drones, aeroplanes and noisemakers. Long-term: varieties of rice with needle-like spikes that prick the birds.
Source: The Star