A herd of elephants forcefully destroyed the fence surrounding Zambezi Green Farm located in Sibbinda Constituency, resulting in significant damage to both the infrastructure and the maize crops on Saturday night.

The 30-hectare farm was established in 2017 with the primary objective of enhancing food security, nutrition, and crop production in the Zambezi Region

Since the establishment of the farm five years ago only now that Elephants have entered the farm to destroy crops. 

A manager at the farm Agenda Mutelo told nbc News on Sunday that the two days harvest of maize that was pilled in different parts of the farm waiting to be taken to one central point was all feasted on by Elephants in a single night.

Mutelo says this is despite that farm workers tried to scare the jumbos by beating on drums, the Elephants were not bothered but continued to feast on the dry maize until they decided to leave on their own in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He noted that about six hectares of harvest was destroyed adding that with that loss it will be difficult for the farm to meet its financial obligations to Agri Bank.

One of the Mafwe Traditional Authority, Chrispin Buchane, who visited the farm to assess damage said human-wildlife conflict is increasing in the region. 

Buchane said not only Zambezi Green is affected but many subsistence farmers in the area will need government assistance in terms of food relief.

The cost of damage is estimated to be tens of thousands of dollars excluding the purchasing of a new fence, pole installation, and labour.

Though the damage has been reported to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the fam staff says repairing the farm fence has to be done immediately to prevent cattle, goats and other wild animals from entering the farm to cause more damage.