Simian Trouble: Farmers in Nagaram, Dubbak forced to stick to paddy cultivation

Considering the soil fertility in this region, vegetables, pulses and corn can be cultivated comfortably, but farmers dread the very thought of monkeys

Siddipet: There is sufficient water and the soils are fertile to cultivate different crops and yet, farmers in Nagaram and neighbouring villages in Dubbak mandal are sticking to paddy cultivation for the last few seasons now. The reason? A continuing monkey menace.

Despite the government’s appeal to farmers to take up cultivation of alternate crops, many farmers in these villages continue to cultivate paddy.

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“You cannot control the monkeys. All the investment and hardwork in tilling the land and sowing the seeds goes waste in cultivating other crops,” says Narsamma, a farmer from Pothireddypet village.

Considering the soil fertility in this region, vegetables, pulses and corn can be cultivated comfortably, but farmers dread the very thought of monkeys.

“We tried cultivating vegetables in the past but the monkeys had damaged the crops extensively. We could not recover investments and now we do not want take risks,” says Srikanth, another farmer from the same village.

Farmers in the neighbouring Nagaram village too express similar challenges in crop diversification. Many said that complaints were lodged with agriculture and local forest officials. But the problem persists.

Officials have been asking to cultivate other crops but that is practically not viable. Monkeys come in groups and damage the fields. Compared to the past, the monkey menace has come down a bit as farmers have stopped cultivating other crops and continue to raise paddy, says J Mallaiah, a farmer from Nagaram village.

Raji Reddy’s mantra keeps the rodents at bay

Age is not a deterrent for this 90-year-old who helps farmers keep rodents away from their fields. Despite the challenges of leading a disciplined life of staying vegetarian and not consuming alcohol, A Raji Reddy, a native of Nagaram village, since the last 50 years has been helping the farmers with his “Yeluka mantra (rat mantra)” and that too without demanding any money.

He writes the farmers name, land and other details on a paper and recites the mantra. Farmers are asked to place the paper in a bottle and then tie it to a stick for installing in the field.

“I learnt it from Siddippa, a poet in Karimnagar. The challenge was to memorise the mantra without writing down when he recited it for nine times. I memorized it and it will stay with me till the last,” Raji Reddy says, adding that four others who had accompanied him failed to pass the test.

Even now, he practices the mantra every day before opening the doors for farmers from far off places like Sircilla, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and others. Generally, farmers are welcomed to his small house on a daily basis, he appeals them to come on Thursdays and Sundays.

After all these years of helping many farmers, Raji Reddy still laments. “I am not bothered about money or fame. No one is prepared to carry forward the legacy of reciting the mantra and helping the farmers after demise. A few youngsters tried but left midway as they found it challenging,” says Raji Reddy.