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Tamil Nadu
Karthik Madhavan
NO ENTRY FOR animals: With the installation of solar fencing, farmers harvest over 90 per cent of the normal yield.
THALAVADY: Farmer K. L. Mahadevappa of K. B. Malam hamlet in Thalavady hills faced problem from two fronts in cultivating his land. Apart from the problem of vagaries of monsoon that he shares with most of his brethren across the country, he faced an additional difficulty in that wild animals from forest destroyed his crops. Wild boar, buffalo, deer, elephants, and monkeys gave him sleepless nights, literally. “Night after night, farmers like me sat on tree tops with torch, crackers, catapult, etc. to keep a watch on animals,” he recalls. The farmers would stay awake on treetops anticipating animals and as when they try to enter fields, they would beat drums, light crackers or scare the animals using torch. Normal yield
The animals not only kept the farmers on their toes but also spoilt their income from fields by damaging the crops. Farmer C. Madevappa, who owns 10 acres, says against the normal yield of 10 bags of ragi an acre, they managed to get only around four bags. “The animals eat away grains equalling six bags,” he says. Each bag weights 100 kg. If it was boar and elephants in the night, monkeys took over the day. “Even during day we were not spared,” says the farmer. And, with a variety of damage-specialists visiting the farm, the farmers could not cultivate any crop. Then the farmers came together in 1995 to form a self-help group, Veerabhadra Samy Swasya Sangha to solve the problem. Crop damage
With the help of Mysore Rural Development Agency (MYRADA), an NGO operating in the hills, the farmers decided to fence their fields. P. Alagesan, project director, MYRADA, says the crop damage due to animals was more than that of other natural causes. He puts the damage at 80 per cent. The fencing, however, did not last long for the animals were wise enough to bypass the arrangement. Mr. Mahadevappa says while elephants smashed the fence using logs, deer jumped over it and boars went under it. Then the farmers converted it into a power fence, using solar cells. In upgrading the ordinary fence to a solar one, MYRADA gave the SHGs 70 per cent of the cost as loan. The SHGs chipped in with the rest. Intercrops
Today, the farmers harvest over 90 per cent of the normal yield. “After fencing we get around nine bags,” says Mr. Madevappa. Using the income from the harvest, the farmers repay the loans in instalments. This has resulted in farmers going in for intercrops as well. This was not possible earlier, though, thanks to the animals.
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