Kenyan farmers are now smiling all the way to the bank after the state, in conjunction with other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) installed smart fences.
A report by Radio France Internationale on Saturday, June 18 indicated the fence, which has been erected to cover National Parks, has been instrumental in taming the perennial human-wildlife conflict.
The State, in partnership with Space for Giants, an NGO, installed the fence which alerts Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) teams regarding the location of wild animals and those nearing the fence.
The fence is equipped with smart technology aspects such as cameras as well as sensors to monitor the movement of animals. They are then in turn prevented from destroying farms.
The fence also has protruding spikes called triggers which target the soft tissues of elephants. The equipment often sends a WhatsApp message to teams who are then dispatched to help control the animals.
“We have monitors that have the capability of sending messages in case there are voltages that have dropped to a certain state, and we are able to know if there was a breakage or an alarm as a result of bridge on that particular section.
“This helps us to understand how they interact with the fence. If there is an elephant that challenges the fence, the camera traps will show this," explained Space for Giants’ human-wildlife co-existence manager Sammy Githui.
The new technology has been received positively by the residents who note that they have seen reduction in conflict.
"In the past when we didn’t have this fence, we were having problems with wild animals, especially elephants.
“If one elephant sets its foot on the farm, it destroys everything. But now we are thankful because we have expanded our fields," stated Alice Mukami, one of the farmers near wildlife habitats.
As of February 2022, it is estimated that KWS still owes Kenyan families a total of Ksh2.6 billion in unpaid claims as a result of the conflict.
So bad is the interaction that apart from farm losses, some residents have lost their lives to wild animals.
