Kenyans blast Gov't over proposal to form taskforce to deal with rats, snails in Mwea

The government's decision to consider forming a taskforce to look into the snail and rats menace in Mwea has been met with much derision and sneers online, with many Kenyans faulting the authorities for the apparent waste of taxpayers' monies on such a frivolous endeavour.

This comes after Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eric Muriithi said the State would form a multi-industrial task force to deal with rats and golden snails that have invaded rice fields at the Mwea irrigation scheme in Kirinyaga County.

Speaking in Mwea after touring Thiba dam and all national irrigation authority projects, Muriithi said rats and snails had affected rice production in the scheme and that the ministry was now using biological methods to fight the menace in the scheme.

“We are  looking at a biological  control  for now  by introducing  small fish like  catfish  to eat  the snails  but the issue of rat traps  is not enough  as there are very many,” CS Muriithi said.

The Cabinet Secretary also said the ministry is going to benchmark on other irrigation schemes with the same problem.

“This is a foreign thing that has come up recently,” he said.

The ministry's decision to form a taskforce to look into the matter has, however, failed to make sense to Kenyans, with many pointing out the obvious waste of public resources on a trivial matter that could be easily solved by the application of everyday methods.

Stumped at the government's tendency to always form a taskforce to look into every other emerging crisis, Kenyans suggested various ideas which could help curb the rats and snails menace - some of which wouldn't necessarily need a dozen paid professionals holed up in a boardroom.

X user Kiprop Bartonjo said, "A problem like this can be solved by keeping ducks. Ducks eat the snails, droppings inakuwa fertilizer especially bird fertilizer is the best. Also, ducks become a source of food and income and employment ya kujenga structures, vets etc."

On his part, former journalist and now-farmer Caleb Karuga also chimed in, agreeing with the duck idea, saying: "If I was a member of this task force, I’d suggest IRDF - Integrated Rice-Duck Farming. Ducks are released into rice paddies to eat weeds & pests such as, you guessed it; snails."

"Duck droppings also fertilize the Rice plants, reducing the need for artificial fertilizers. But I know there’s no way I’ll be a member of that task force, because what do I know about farming?"

Another user added their perspective, saying, "They called him the youngest CS. This is the mind of a young CS? Wow! This dude has brought along the same old policies that the Moi, Kibaki and Kenyatta eras used to employ! Talk to the villagers, they'll offer simple, practical solutions that won't cost Kenyans millions of shillings!"

Back to the duck argument, yet another solid proposal was floated: "I'm not even from Mwea. I'm from Ahero, Kisumu County. I grew up with rice farming and we always deployed ducks to deal with these pesky issues. Lakini lazima watu wakule per diem, so, why not form a useless taskforce?"

City lawyer Willis Otieno chimed in, too, saying, "Both the County and National Governments maintain departments staffed with salaried personnel specifically tasked with executing such responsibilities. What, then, is the purpose of their positions if external committees and ad hoc taskforces must be perpetually constituted to undertake their work?"

Rice and Duck Farming, known in Japan as ‘Aigamo’ is a modern multispecies integrated farming system with ancient roots.

For thousands of years, rice farmers in the Pacific Rim have deployed flocks of ducks. It is largely an Asian movement with the goal of protecting the environment and consumer health while improving the soil and farm viability.

The success of the Aigamo method in Asia drew the attention of farmers worldwide with the most famous case being that of Erik Andrus, a famer in Vermont, New England.

Speaking to an Asian website, AsiaFarms, he said.: "The newly planted rice seedlings and ducks grow together so it’s really important that everything is coordinated with a great deal of precision.” Andrus also stressed that if the ducks or rice grow too quickly, it throws the entire process off-balance.

"The ducks stay in the fields for roughly six weeks, or before the grain develops on the rice plant; up until then, they are on weed control and won’t eat the rice plant because of the high silica content."