A special panel, formed to address farmers’ woes of wildlife conflict, met virtually on Thursday to discuss the menace caused by wild animals in agricultural fields.
Based on an announcement made during the agriculture budget for 2023-2024, a joint committee comprising farmers, technical experts and officials from Departments of Forests, Agriculture, Horticulture, and Revenue was ordered to be formed to recommend measures for reducing conflict between wild animals and farmers. In the 19-member committee’s first meeting, held on Thursday, farmers from Erode, Coimbatore, Dindigul, Krishnagiri, and Dharmapuri voiced their concerns about damages to crops caused by wild boars, peacocks, elephants and, in some cases, monkeys.
