Glittering festoons to rubber snakes: Kerala farmers’ many tricks to save crops

From glittering festoons to rubber snakes, farmers in Kerala are using various tricks to protect their crops from wild animals.

Around 40,000 instances of wild animals causing damage to crops were reported in the state over the last five years. The state also often witnesses the protests by farmers seeking solutions for this persistent issue.

In the meantime many farmers are finding several cost effective solutions by themselves as well.

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A recent method being used by the coconut farmers who face threat from monkeys is to tie steel sheets on the trees. The steel sheets are tied on the trunk towards the top. It should be also ensured that the leaves of the trees are now connected to nearby trees. This could prevent monkeys from reaching the top of the trees, said Kerala Independent Farmers Association (KIFA) treasurer Jinto James.

Another trick being widely used is to make fencing using green shade nets. James said that even as this trick is found to be effective in blocking the way of wild animals like wild boars, the green shade nets made using plastic pose a threat to the environment in the long run.

A few months back some farmers started using dummy snakes made of rubber to scare monkeys. But this did not last long as monkeys started realising the trick. Some farmers use glittering festoons on farm lands assuming that its glittering and the rustling sound during breeze scare wild animals.