FARMERS in Babati District are reportedly turning their attention to fishing following heavy rains that hit the area.

According to Burunge Wildlife Management Area (BWMA), the deluge experienced in 2019/20 compelled the otherwise Babati farmers to resort to fishing at Manyara and Burunge lakes, after their farms got submerged in water.

The new reality has however seen a rise in poaching vice in the area, said Secretary Benson Mwaise here last week.

"Farmers have now traded farms for lakes to harvest fish, sadly that spurred poaching activities in this area," disclosed Mr Mwaise before Journalists' Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET) who toured the Kwakuchinja Wildlife Corridor.

The patchy rain pattern decreased farming activities in the area with farmers opting to start fishing to eke out a living and sustain their livelihoods.

"This also attracted residents from different walks of lives and illegal fishing and killing of warthogs became the order of the day here," explained Mr Mwaise.

Likewise, the BWMA official revealed that change of climate also triggered Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) in the area.

Detailing on the effects of climate change at the crucial migratory route, Mr Mwaise said wild animals such as elephants started raiding tomato farms, destroying anything that stood in their way.

He further singled out over flooding of Lake Manyara, destruction of infrastructures and siltation of Lake Manyara as some of the challenges that the BWMA has had to grapple with.

He said siltation from erosion of the lake basin has had direct adverse effects on fish by covering spawning sites, destroying benthic food sources, and reducing water clarity to visual feeding animals.

Established after the Wildlife Policy of 1998 that would later be reviewed in 2007, BWMA was among the first 16 pilot study area in 2003.

JET members visited the area for a three-day fact-finding mission courtesy of courtesy of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Tuhifadhi Maliasili Project.