Rats invade Kagman crops

An infestation of rats in Kagman has prompted farmers at the Kagman Commercial Farm Plot to appeal to the government for assistance in controlling the problem.

“We have a big problem with rats,” said farmer Isidoro T. Cabrera. “Every night, farmers experience damage to their crops, including vegetables, fruits, and roots crops. The rats are eating up the money that’s supposed to be made from selling these crops.”

Cabrera said rats in the area have destroyed about 30-50 percent of saleable crops.

“Farmers are losing up to 50 percent of their harvest,” he said. “It’s a perennial problem…the population suddenly just exploded and there’s just too many to deal with. They come at night and eat the crops that hard work is put into growing. Many of these crops are ready for the market, and income is reduced [by] up to 50 percent.”

A total of 26 farmers signed a petition that was to be forwarded to Department of Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Richard Seman yesterday. Seman was unavailable for comment.

“Not only is the rat presence at the KCFP contributing to substantial damage to our crops, [but] it also poses a health threat to the Kagman community. KCFP is becoming, if not already, a premier breeding ground for rats, which requires your immediate assistance and attention,” a part of the petition reads.

Agriculturalist Ben Borja of the Division of Agriculture said a meeting that will include farmers will be organized to address the issue.

In the meantime, Borja, who also is a farmer, said keeping farms and its surrounding areas properly sanitized would aid in minimizing the problem, as well as people refraining from illegal dumping of trash around the Kagman area.

“There are some plots that are not clean,” he said. “With the weather and also since there are more trash thrown around in different places, it creates a better breeding place for [rats]. People dump trash in places they’re not supposed to, and the rats come and eat and breed.”

Borja explained that there are other ways of dealing with the rats, including using poison and rat traps. He, however, said chemical use should be the last resort as it may cause a chain reaction that would, in turn, affect other animals as well as the surrounding community. Both Cabrera and Borja agreed that chemicals are too expensive.

“We need to be very careful in using chemicals,” Borja said. “It may cause a chain reaction where the rat eats the poison, looks for water to drink, and transfer the chemical to the water, affecting other animals drinking from those water containers.”

“I’ve tried [using poison] and lost about 3 to 4 piglets in my farm,” he said. “Once they [ingest] poison, their blood coagulates. They then immediately look for water, and once they drink the water, they die. When they die in a water container, what’s next?”

Borja also cited the need to remember that “Kagman is a big community and we don’t want rats running to their place after taking the poison.”

Borja said addressing the problem should involve a collaborative effort between the Agriculture Division, Department of Public Health, as well as schools.

“Kids should be made aware of this problem, because it is a problem, and with everybody chipping in and doing their part…I’m pretty sure we can minimize this,” he said.

He said problems with rats infesting farm areas in Kagman is not new and is also being experienced in other plots, including San Roque and Agingan Point areas, among others.

Cabrera, also an agricultural consultant for the Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Service, said 2004 was a tough year for farmers, noting the damage sustained from typhoons Tingting and Chaba, and now rats.

“Everyone is suffering,” he said. “Farmers are spending a lot on recovery and it’s good now that we’re producing, but with the rats coming in, farms are hard hit, and even the village area. There are rats all over the place.”

He said the group is lobbying the Legislature to appropriate funds for a program that would assist farmers in dealing with the issue.

“It’s been a top priority for the past several weeks,” he said. “We’re working with DLNR and NMC-CREES.”