Kenya: Highly invasive apple snail pest cuts farmers’ yield by 14 percent and income by 60 percent

Published Mar 28, 2024

Tridge summary

Since its first report in 2020, the apple snail has become a major invasive pest in Kenya's Mwea Irrigation Settlement Scheme and surrounding rice farms, affecting over 90% of the area. This pest has significantly reduced rice yields by 14% and net rice income by 60% for farmers experiencing moderate infestations. The spread of the apple snail is attributed to shared farming equipment, water channels, and flooding practices, mirroring the severe agricultural and ecological damage previously observed in Asia. Efforts in Malaysia have shown that while containment and eradication are possible, they require substantial labor and financial resources. The situation calls for urgent action to prevent further spread and to mitigate its economic and ecological impacts, with a particular concern for the significant role of women in rice production who are disproportionately affected by the management of this pest.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Apple snail, a highly invasive pest which was first reported in 2020 in Kenya at Mwea Irrigation Settlement Scheme (MIS) has increasingly become a matter of concern cutting farmers’ yields by 14 per cent and yields by 60 per cent. Since its discovery, it has proliferated across more than 90 percent of MIS and neighboring rice out-grower farms. This expansion has been enabled by farmers sharing of farming equipment, water distribution channels, and flooding practices. According to the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), an adult apple snail can destroy a square meter of rice in one night. The arrival of apple snail in MIS, a major rice growing area in Kenya, is of immense concern. The history of apple snail invasion in Asian agricultural systems demonstrates the snail’s huge impacts where these systems have been rapidly overwhelmed. In addition to the damage done to agriculture, the snail could also push already fragile ecosystems into irreversible decline ...

Source: Smart Farmer Kenya