The elections to Madhya Pradesh Assembly is over and the date of polling in Rajasthan is next week. Whoever comes to power, the farmers in both States have one common demand for them: help control the growing population of nilgais and stray cattle that destroy their crops. They want the new governments to learn from Bihar and Uttarakhand, where nilgais are considered vermin and State governments manage the menace with the approval of the Union Forest Department.
Badrilal Nagda, a farmer from Neemuch, has a variety of crops in his field, including wheat, chickpeas and flaxseed. “They came in large groups yesterday, in the night. It is very difficult to chase them away. They eat everything and in the process they destroy the crops. It is a major problem for us,” Mr. Nagda said, pointing to a huge pile of nilgai excreta on his land and urging the government’s intervention.
Both wheat and chickpeas are at sapling stage, and the farmer showed the destruction caused by the animals. “Here, we do not have much problems with stray cattle, but nilgais are a headache,” he said.
Added costs
Farmers also have to spent a lot to secure their lands from nilgais, adding to the input cost of farming. They either employ others for security or they themselves stay at the field in the night to scare the animals away.
“Fencing with wires costs us at least ₹50,000 to ₹60,000 for a hectare. But these animals can easily jump over the fences,” said Manoj Patidar, an opium farmer from Mandsaur. Opium is a favourite crop of the nilgais and farmers must be extremely careful, as any decrease in opium yield will cost them their cultivation licences, given by the government. “Parrots are also fond of opium,” he said.
Some farmers are now covering their fences with fluorescent white sheets that glitter in the night. “It doubles our cost, but these animals will not come to the fields, may be because of the fluorescent light,” said Ghanashyam, another farmer.
‘Lift cattle trade ban’
Nerulal Jat, a farmers’ leader in Chittorgarh has planted sugarcane in more than one acre of land. He made a temporary shed on the branches of a mango tree in his field to keep a watch on these animals. “More than nilgais, awara pashu (stray cattle) is our main problem. Earlier, trading of domestic animals was possible. Now, no one comes to buy them for various reasons,” he said.
Farmers are saying that they face 30% to 40% losses in crop production every year due to nilgais and stray cattle. “In Madhya Pradesh, elephants are the new problem, particularly in the eastern part of the State bordering Chhattisgarh. Stray cattle is the biggest issue. The governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh should lift the ban on cattle trade. Else, it would be impossible to cultivate in these States,” said Badal Saroj, a senior leader of the All India Kisan Sabha.
He noted that there had been an earlier attempt by the Madhya Pradesh government to change the name of ‘nilgai’ to ‘rojad’, as the word ‘gai (cow)‘, is linked with the sentiments of the people. “The government should adopt methods including neutering of these animals to save farmers,” Mr. Saroj demanded.
