Govt to address the issue of snails and rats Mwea rice fields
The government plans to create a multiagency implementation taskforce involving different industries to deal with the rat and golden snails problem in rice fields, which have infested the Mwea irrigation scheme in Kirinyaga County.
In Mwea, after touring Thiba dam and all national irrigation authority projects, Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eric Muriithi, announced that the Ministry of Agriculture and the Kirinyaga County government would also form part of the task force.
Muriithi said rat and snail infestation has affected rice production on the scheme. The ministry is presently using biological approach to fight against the menaces in the scheme.
CS Muriithi, however, said that currently, our focus is to use a biological method of control. We will introduce small fish like catfish to control the snail infestation. But the use of rat traps alone cannot be sufficient due to the large number of rats present.
The Cabinet Secretary has also said that the ministry intends to use other irrigation schemes facing similar issues as benchmarks.
He mentioned that something unfamiliar has surfaced recently.
Currently, Mwea rice farmers have been struggling with protecting their rice from golden snails and rats.
The rat invasion has affected the rice nurseries, causing an uproar among farmers who are calling out for the government to handle the issue of rodent control as soon as possible.
The customer service representative explained that the government is committed to increasing production in the Mwea rice scheme after the completion of the construction at Thiba.
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