{"id":3134,"date":"2019-06-18T22:49:30","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T22:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=3134"},"modified":"2019-06-19T09:01:10","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T09:01:10","slug":"birds-and-squirrels-destroy-farms-in-lower-shabelle-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2019\/06\/18\/birds-and-squirrels-destroy-farms-in-lower-shabelle-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Birds and squirrels destroy farms in Lower Shabelle region"},"content":{"rendered":"

MARKA (SoOHA) –<\/strong> Fadumo Mohamed Adan\u2019s hope of a good harvest has been dashed after all the seeds she planted were eaten by birds. She planted maize on her farm in Tulo-sagal village outside Afgoye town, Lower Shabelle region, in early June.<\/p>\n

\u201cI invested $450 in the farm. I hired a tractor to prepare the land then employed three people to plant the seeds. I paid them $50 each for a week,\u201d she told Radio Ergo.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the seeds were dug out before they turned into seedlings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so desperate, no seeds germinated, everything was eaten by birds. I have no money to invest and at the same time, the gu\u2019 rains are ending,\u201d said Faduma, a mother of two boys.<\/p>\n

Another farmer, Abdi Said Mohamed, said rodents raided his five hectares and his consecutive losses have made him tired of planting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI planted crops on the farm twice this gu\u2019 season but there were no shoots because the seeds we planted were dug out by squirrels, forcing me to quit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Abdi who lives in Tulo-Sagal village and has six children spent over $500 on the farm. He said many others were also affected.<\/p>\n

In nearby Tulo-Sagal, Mohamed Yussuf Mohamed\u2019s farm was raided by birds and squirrels.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing germinated, at first I was shocked but later when I was told the seeds were eaten I went and looked closely and saw the animal tracks,\u201d Mohamed told Radio Ergo.<\/p>\n

Hassan Mohamed Hussein, the chairperson of Tulo-Sagal farmers association, said 250 farms were affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese problems will have a great impact on production as well as on the farmers themselves because all these farms are rain-fed and time is running out very fast \u2013 they cannot plant again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Omar Haji Hassan, an agricultural expert, attributes the problem to the type of seeds being used. He urged farmers to use treated seeds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe animals can tell when the seeds are treated and they keep away, so I call upon the farmers to use well treated seeds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Source: Radio Ergo<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MARKA (SoOHA) – Fadumo Mohamed Adan\u2019s hope of a good harvest has been dashed after all the seeds she planted were eaten by birds. She planted maize on her farm in Tulo-sagal village outside Afgoye town, Lower Shabelle region, in early June. \u201cI invested $450 in the farm. I hired a tractor to prepare the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-food-security-cluster","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t