Farmers in Kiambu County are asking the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to step in as monkeys destroy their crops, a problem they say is threatening food production, household incomes and the survival of families that depend on farming.
For these farmers, the raids are no longer a passing nuisance. They are a recurring loss that wipes out months of work, and their appeal brings a larger question into focus: who bears the cost of protecting wildlife when the communities living beside it are left to count the damage?
Farming households invest limited resources in preparing land, buying seed, applying fertiliser and tending crops through the season. When monkeys destroy the harvest, that investment is lost, often with no prospect of compensation or recovery.
Wildlife is a national heritage and a pillar of Kenya’s tourism and conservation agenda. The burden of living alongside it, however, should not fall disproportionately on rural communities.
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The farmers’ call goes beyond the monkeys themselves. It points to the need for a more responsive system for managing human-wildlife conflict.
KWS, county authorities and farmers need to agree on practical measures, including effective deterrents, community sensitisation, rapid-response teams and compensation where it applies.
The issue also touches agricultural policy. As Kenya pursues food security and higher farm productivity, farmers contending with wildlife damage should not be left without institutional support.
Conservation is a national responsibility, and so is protecting the livelihoods of the people who share the land with wildlife. It cannot be sustained when those communities are left economically exposed. The real test of wildlife management is whether it protects both biodiversity and the people who live alongside it.
By Hillary Muhalya
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