Farmers in Jajarkot are spending day and night guarding their maize fields after wild boars and monkeys began destroying crops across several villages in Bheri Municipality.

Wild boars have caused widespread damage to maize fields in Ward Nos. 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, forcing farmers to erect temporary shelters covered with tarpaulins and take turns keeping watch over their crops.

For many families who depend on farming and daily wage labour for their livelihood, the crop losses have become a serious concern. As maize cobs begin to mature, monkeys raid the fields during the day while wild boars enter mostly at night, making it increasingly difficult for farmers to protect their harvest.

Mohan Khatri, a farmer from Bheri Municipality-13, said his family had no choice but to guard the fields in shifts.

“Last year, monkeys caused the most damage. This year, wild boars have become the biggest problem. Just when we were looking forward to harvesting the maize, the animals started destroying the crop,” Khatri said.

He said the growing threat from wild animals was discouraging many people from continuing farming. “If the government fails to manage wild animals, people who depend on agriculture and daily labour for their livelihood will gradually lose interest in farming,” he said.

According to Khatri, farmers can usually chase away monkeys during the day, but driving off wild boars is far more dangerous.

“We know when monkeys are likely to come, but wild boars can appear at any time. One person cannot deal with them alone, so neighbours gather and guard the fields together,” he said.

He added that farmers are even considering seeking permission from the Division Forest Office to kill problem animals because of the repeated crop damage.

Bhakta Bahadur Batala, also from Bheri Municipality-13, said wild animals no longer seemed afraid of people.

“Monkeys and wild boars are entering fields near our settlements without hesitation. We stay awake throughout the night because they can destroy the crop in a very short time,” he said.

He said farmers had hoped for a good harvest after months of weeding and protecting their maize from storms, but were now worried that wild animals would ruin the crop just before harvest.

Because wild boars, monkeys and porcupines are protected wildlife, farmers are not allowed to kill them. As a result, many families are forced to spend both day and night in their fields -- chasing monkeys during daylight hours and keeping watch against wild boars after dark -- to save the maize that provides food for the year.

Source - https://risingnepaldaily.com