How Covid-19 ate Kilifi farmers’ ‘flying gold’

More than 50,000 people living near the Arabuko Sokoke Forest in Kilifi County and who directly depend on butterfly export are vulnerable after the European market banned the import of the insects due to the Covid-19 pandemic a year ago.

Research scientist Hussein Aden, who also coordinates the Kipepeo Butterfly project at the Gedi Ruins in Kilifi said locals highly depend on butterfly farming and tourism in Malindi and Watamu, where the pandemic also shut down hotels, with workers sent home.

"This time around, the world has turned upside down for the butterfly farmers and the butterfly industry, which has left thousands of locals desperate to feed their families and educate their children,” he said. "When the pandemic broke out in March last year, we expected it to take about two to three months for us to resume business but it has now taken a year."

The existence of Arabuko Sokoke forest and the beautiful sandy beaches and marine parks in Malindi and Watamu have made tourism and butterfly farming, commonly known as 'the flying gold of Arabuko' the major economic activities in the area.

Speaking to the Nation, Mr Aden said they were optimistic business would resume after the first lockdown in Europe around May and then October last year, but the second wave of Covid-19 and a new strain of the virus in Europe has necessitated lockdowns in several countries.

"The United Kingdom (UK), which is the biggest market for butterfly export, went into another lockdown until the end of this month, following a new strain of Covid-19," he said.

Educate their children

“Although farmers have been surviving on their little savings to feed and educate their children, we still hope for the best."

Mr Aden said the cancellation of the exports following the pandemic came as they prepared to export a batch of butterfly pupae on March 5 last year during the high season.

"We had prepared for our normal delivery, but a notification from the client caught us off guard,” he said.

They then prepared for the export season that runs from March to September or October. That too did not materialise.

Their main markets for the butterflies, which earn them between Sh18 million and Sh20 million per year, are the United Kingdom and the United States, which were both hard hit by the outbreak.

In the UK and US, the butterflies are displayed in exhibition centres and museums, mostly in urban areas, for their beauty.

The Nation also toured the home of some of the butterfly farmers in Gede and Magangani and found them with their families preparing the land for planting ahead of the long rains.

At the home of Ms Asha Athumani, a mother of three, we found her cleaning the butterfly traps while letting go of some of the butterflies that had transformed from their pupae stage.

Ms Athumani said she had prepared a species of ‘Hamanumida daedalus’ butterfly which sells at Sh100 a pupa before the plan was abruptly disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This species is the most expensive one. This is the most precious; if you prepare a good number of the butterflies they can fetch you up to Sh10,000 a week,” she said.

Mr Msanzu Karisa from Magangani said he had prepared butterflies that could have fetched him about Sh40,000 before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the trade.

"We had to stop supplying butterflies at Butterfly Farm after the coordinator informed us of the cancellation and we are not sure when the pandemic will end so we can resume our butterfly farming," he said.