Balanced approach needed to deal with crop damage by wild animals

The statement by Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Lal Kantha that farmers can take any action to prevent wild animals from damaging their crop within their lands without fear of legal action has stirred a hornet’s nest with environmentalists among those unhappy with these remarks.

A protest was held near the Parliament roundabout yesterday to condemn the minister’s remarks and ask that he withdraw the statement. Environmental rights groups fear that such remarks could lead to a destruction of wild animals including elephants, who have met their death due to electrocution and traps laid by farmers.

The recent death of the giant tusker elephant after being fatally entangled in an illegal electric fence at the Kalawewa National Park, is among tragic ends that elephants have faced.

But the other side of the story is the immense difficulties that farmers go through due to wild animals including elephants, wild boar, monkeys, peacocks, grizzled giant squirrels, porcupine, etc.

According to a survey carried out by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) in 2023, the country incurs an annual loss between Rs. 17-20 billion owing to crop damage caused by animals with more than 31,000 metric tons of vegetables and fruits harvest lost each year due to damage by wild animals.

It was also estimated that the number of coconuts destroyed by monkeys exceeds 200 million each year.

These are facts that the successive Governments have attempted to address but have so far failed to come up with a lasting solution.

The method used to prevent elephants from destroying crops has been the erecting of low voltage electric fences but this too has failed to keep the animals away and has led to farmers taking the law into their own hands by using various methods to keep the elephants away and sometimes with tragic consequences.

In most districts where farming is the main livelihood, keeping crops safe from wild animals is a challenge. Loss of animal habitats in recent decades in the name of big development projects has driven wild animals into human habitats and the inevitable clash between animals and humans is taking place. Peafowl who were roaming free in jungles have become a common sight in urban areas as they travel further looking for food while monkeys (mainly the endemic toque macaque) have become a major threat with damage done to coconut crop. The monkey population also keeps increasing which has worsened the problem over the years.

Agriculture Minister Lal Kantha will face the same challenges as his predecessors in dealing with this problem. While it’s easy to find fault with his remarks, he is only echoing the frustration of the farmers who fight night and day to safeguard their crop and for whom, it’s a losing fight.

What is needed is proper mitigation of this problem and this might include culling of certain species of animals/birds or sterilisation as is the case in many countries. But it’s a sensitive issue and the Minister will need to tread carefully on how he manages this situation. Looking at how other countries in similar situations have mitigated this problem will be helpful.

A good place to start is by mapping the most common types of damage caused by wild animals and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of available solutions at the farm level that can help prevent, monitor and control wildlife damage to agricultural production. What must be avoided is more harm to the environment. According to the United Nations, pollution, climate chaos, habitat loss and exploitation of nature have pushed a million plant and animal species to the brink of extinction. Hence what is needed is a balanced approach to this problem, one that has to be chartered with the use of modern technology and expert advice.