No, we are not talking figuratively here although the temptation is great.

At this time last year, the city agriculture office was grappling with reports of massive rat infestation in the interior barangays of the city, with Paquibato District as the hardest hit.

The CAO reported that various agricultural crops – including the staple food of subsistence farmers in this villages, were damaged by the rodents. It estimated a devastation of 10,723 hectares affecting the lives and livelihood of 6,485 farmers along with their 20,530 dependents.

The city responded by declaring eight barangays under state of calamity with P30 million to answer to the needs of the farmers and to rehabilitate the affected areas. It was a multi-agency response with the city social welfare, health, engineering and other offices pitching in to help the farmers.  The city agriculture office took care of the rehabilitation and ensuring that farmers can continue to plant for their own consumption and some for livelihood.

Former councilor Leo Avila III, environmentalist and now the officer in charge of the City Agriculture Office, said that it is impossible to totally eradicate rats. They have their own slot in the food chain and disturbing this would have a domino effect in the balance of prey and predator.

So what do we do to prevent the massive rat infestation? Avila said that apart from a certain percentage of the farm products going to insects and rats, we should also look at the natural predator of rats that keep their numbers at tolerable levels.

This is where the owl flies in. Avila said that owls feed on 2 kilos of rats per day. But since we kill the owls that are helpless in daytime, the rat population has steadily grown. Sure, some eat “star meat” (as what agriculturist Roy Jaca call rats’ meat) but we don’t think this would ever become our farmers’ staple.

Maintaining the delicate balance of nature is the core message of environmentalists. Save the owl to protect the crops.