Nairobi — Farmers in Laikipia are planting pepper around other crops to keep away elephants.

The project of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum aims at tackling the human-wildlife conflict.

Elephants are known to hate pepper.

According to a community conservation officer with LWF, Mr Josephat Musyimi, the method has been successfully used in Zimbabwe. He expressed optimism that it would work in Kenya.

The farmers will also burn elephant dung combined with chilli oil to chase away the animals.

At demonstration plots in the Habahaba area, initial reports say elephants are avoiding farms fenced with ropes smeared with chilli oil, Mr Musyimi said.

He was addressing visiting East African Legislative Assembly members at Lewa Conservancy.

Meanwhile, elephants have destroyed more than 100 acres of crop in Kabaru, near the Mt Kenya Forest in Nyeri District, in the past three months.

Residents of Island Farm Settlement Scheme are now threatening to kill the animals unless Kenya Wildlife Service urgently acts to tame them.