Farmers Shift to Chili Cultivation Due to Monkey Menace

Baglung. Farmers in Baglung have stopped traditional farming due to monkey menace. The monkey menace has increased as villages have become deserted due to migration.

After destroying crops like maize, wheat, millet, buckwheat, and fruits planted in the fields, farmers have started cultivating crops that monkeys do not destroy. Farmers have started cultivating Akbare chili as an alternative to food crops.

Farmer Premprasad Kandel of Kathekhola Rural Municipality-8 in the district said that monkeys start destroying maize as soon as it ripens, so he has stopped planting maize and started planting Akbare chili. He said that Akbare cannot be destroyed by monkeys. He said that the market for Akbare is good as he has started cultivating Akbare for the first time.

Kandel said, "We are fed up, monkeys destroy not only the fields but also come to the balconies of our houses and destroy crops, so now we have planted Akbare in place of food crops, they will not let us harvest wheat and maize, they say monkeys cannot be killed, monkeys have given us a lot of trouble, we have to find some alternative."

Ward Chairman Gyanendra Gautam said that in Rayadanda of Baglung Municipality-11, farmers have also started cultivating Akbare and ginger due to monkey harassment. According to him, 40,000 Akbare saplings have been planted in various places in the village this year. He said that farmers are facing great difficulty due to monkeys and plans are being made for their control.

"We have started cultivating Akbare this year due to the great trouble caused by monkeys, farmers have planted Akbare in their fields, this is also a test," said Chairman Gautam, "If it goes well, we will plant Akbare throughout the ward from next year, we hope this cultivation will provide some relief to the farmers."

Local Tembahadur Thapa said that after monkeys destroyed food crops, they have turned to vegetable farming. He said that since vegetables are not left behind, he has planted Akbare this year. Thapa said that if the government does not take a policy to control monkeys, farmers will not be able to produce well.

This year in Rayadanda, 75 farmers have started producing Akbare chili in the first phase. 40,000 saplings were produced from 40,000 seeds. If this plan is successful, Akbare cultivation can be done in other villages where there is a monkey menace.