Plantation farmers in Shirtadi Kukkentodi near Moodabidri are facing the most difficult times ever. The Giant African snail has harmed their farms in every possible way. The pest has proven disastrous to every crop that is grown in the village.
The invasion of the Giant African Snail also known as the Ghana Tiger Snail started two years back. The reason I choose the word invasion is because these snails have affected more than 150 hectares of agricultural land in the village. These snails are so large in number that one can collect 500-600 snails in one hour. A big snail can be as long as 9 inches and lays around 1200 eggs a year. Scientifically known as Achatina Fulica Bowdich the pest can feed on almost everything. In plants it targets the stem and in the trees its main target is the bark. The first thing which I saw in the one of the plantation farms was a fallen papaya tree which is more than enough to describe how dangerous these snails are to the vegetation of the area.
The prime plantation crops such as papaya, banana and areca nuts are harmed in the worst possible manner and even the vegetables like lady finger, pumpkin etc. are badly affected. Mr. Jason Lobo, a plantation farm owner, “We have stopped growing vegetables now and these snails have also prevented us from planting saplings.” Mr. Lobo used to grow 6-7 vegetables on a commercial level earlier.
Three months ago officers from Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mangalore visited the farms to study the situation. The officers had assured provision of lime which is helpful in killing the pest to the farmers but nothing has been done till now. Moreover, lime is ineffective on the snail in humid conditions. The farmers have not received any sort of help from the State Government and the local administrative bodies so far. As the village Panchayat are poorly funded and the number of plantation farmers is less these farmers see no point in going to the Panchayat and raising their voice against its ignorance over the issue.These snails can be killed using pesticides like urea, salt water and lime to a certain extent. Metaldehyde is a better option as suggested by the researchers but it is a costly affair. As it does not fall under the subsidized pesticides it cannot be used for large scale killings of the snails.
The problem of the Giant African Snail had also showed up its ugly face in and around Cochin last year. There was a report on the same mentioning that the snail should never be touched bare handed. Even the authorities there used gloves while killing the snails. On the other hand, the farmers in Shirtadi kill the snails by picking them with bare hands and by burning them. No authority ever warned them against the use of bare hands, their negligence can prove really harmful to the farmers and the labourers in future. I say so because the snail is a carrier of the rat lungworm which causes eosinophilic meningitis in humans.Mr. Lobo’s mother informed us that she goes to the field every morning and evening to kill the snails so that they do not enter her house. Mr. Lobo faces a loss of more than Rs.14000 every month because of the highly invasive species. He is thinking of using urea in his fields as it seems to be the best option.
Though the Zonal Agricultural Research Station (ZARS) is now conducting programs on the management of the snails in the affected village but the question which arises is whether the authorities were sleeping from the past 2 years. If the Government had been a bit active then may be the farmers of Shirtadi and other villages of Karkala taluk might have not been facing so much miseries.
