After yielding little from last year’s growing season due to dry spells, smallholder farmers from Traditional Authority (TA) Matuwamba’s area in Mchinji District are worried because elephants are now destroying crops from their irrigated fields.
The elephants are coming from Kasungu National Park to the area which borders Kasungu and Zambia.
In an interview, Group Village Head Chikorwe pleaded with authorities to drive away the animals that are also endangering the lives of the people in the area.
“People’s crops in the irrigated fields have all been destroyed by these animals. They have eaten everything, especially maize, sugarcane, bananas, and tomatoes. People have nothing in their fields,” said GVH Chikorwe.
According to villagers, the elephants, which are moving in herds of around 10, are stomping their field during the night.
They said that on Monday an elephant even destroyed a house and ate the maize that was kept in the house.
On the same day, there were also reports that buffaloes jad escaped from the park, instilling more fear in the people from the area.
Meanwhile, the villagers have resorted to beating tins and the steel part of a hoe to scare the animals away.
When contacted, Public Relations Officer for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), Joseph Nkosi, said the department has already moved in.
“Yes, we are aware of the challenges and we are attending to the problem. As we speak, there is a team of rangers on the ground chasing the elephants back into the park. This team will be on the ground for a while, till the incursions have reduced or stopped,” said Nkosi.
The elephants are escaping from Kasungu National Park to Zambia and then to Mchinji, according to reports from DNPW in Mchinji.
By Vincent Khonje, MANA
