Kodagu coffee farmers suffer ongoing elephant attacks

Madikeri: Farmers in several parts of Kodagu are in distress due to repeated wild elephant attacks, said KH Hanif, the convenor of Karnataka Coffee Farmers Association.Speaking to reporters, Hanif said farmers living on the forest fringes are spending their lives trying to protect their fields from wild animals. Despite raising crops with great difficulty, many no longer feel confident that they can safeguard the crops until harvest.He said elephants are entering from the forests and damaging their crops. The elephants are even trampling the fences and entering the agricultural land, leading to heavy losses for the farmers. Apart from destroying standing crops, the elephants are also damaging solar fencing, pump sets and wire fences, he said.Hanif alleged that repeated complaints to forest department have not yielded results. He demanded that the department focus on preventing elephants from crossing into human habitation instead of offering 'meagre compensation' after the damage. He also claimed that while other elephants have been captured, a lone elephant responsible for repeated destruction has not been caught yet, and said that officials are merely driving elephants from one area to another.He said elephant incursions have been reported in Mallamatti, Maithadi, Halugunda, Bellarimadu, Chembebellur, Devanageri and Bhattamakki areas of Virajpet, where crops, coconut trees, banana plants and decades-old coffee plants have been destroyed. He warned that if strict action is not taken, the association will organise a massive protest in the coming days.Virajpet civic committee convener IR Durgaprasad linked the crisis to broader economic pressures on farmers, including rising living costs, expensive education and healthcare, saying repeated losses could take years to recover from.KA Hamsa of Chamiyala criticised the compensation as inadequate, alleging large losses are met with token payments. Association co-convenor TT Udayakumar said the govt must compensate farmers properly and warned that continued inaction could trigger an agitation.