Siddipet: Monkeys, wild boars, parrots push maize farmers into crisis

Let alone earning profits, the farmers could not even get back their investment in the crop, as invasions by monkeys, wild boars, parrots and other birds have destroyed the crops.

Siddipet: Invasions by monkeys, wild boars, parrots and other birds on crops have pushed the maize farmers into crisis across Siddipet.

The farmers had cultivated maize on about 23,000 acres during the Vanakalam season. Against the minimum support price of Rs.2,225 per quintal, maize was being purchased at Rs.3,000 per quintal in the open market now. Hoping for huge returns, many farmers had taken up maize cultivation across the district. Let alone earning profits, the farmers could not even get back their investment in the crop. As a troop of monkeys invaded farmer Anjaiah’s maize field at Malyala village in Narayanraopet mandal, the farmer did not even harvest the crop since there was nothing to harvest in the crop.

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Anjaiah urged the government to put some meaningful efforts into restricting the monkey menace besides chasing away wild boars from agriculture fields. In the Yellareddypet agriculture cluster of Thoguta mandal, parrots ate up dozens of acres of maize crop. Farmers under the cluster had cultivated maize on nearly 400 acres. As the harvesting season was nearing, the farmers had hoped for a bumper harvest. However, parrots and wild boars dashed their hopes by feeding on the crops.

Mankela Malla Reddy, a farmer from Marmamula village in Maddur mandal, has abandoned his two acres of crop as monkeys ate up the entire crop a fortnight before its harvest. These were just a few examples that would reflect the state of the maize farmers in Siddipet.
Speaking to Telangana Today, agriculture extension officer (AEO), Yellareddypet, T Nagarjuna observed that it would slowly make the farmers abandon maize cultivation in the district since they were not getting anything in return after spending Rs.30,000 investment and lots of effort.

“It is sad to see farmers facing such a crisis even though the district received a good amount of rain this year,” he said.