Farmers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district are cultivating medicinal plants instead of crops like rice, maize and wheat to save their fields from hungry monkeys. The lack of forests has forced these monkeys to raid the fields in search of food, which causes a lot of damage to the farmers. To deal with this, agriculture experts from the Ministry of AYUSH have advised farmers to grow herbs instead of traditional crops like rice, wheat and maize, as this will not only protect their crops but also bring more profits.
Cultivation of medicinal plants: Many farmers in villages located near forest areas in Doda have adopted this solution and are now growing aromatic plants such as lavender and Tagetes minuta as well as Trillium (Nag-Chatri), Saussurea costus (Kuth), Inula (Mannu), dandelion ( Cultivation of medicinal plants like Indian gooseberry), wild garlic and balsam apple (Ban-Kakri). Officials said these plants have a bitter taste and a strong pungent odor, making them unsuitable for monkeys.
Farmers getting more profits: Tauqeer Baghban, a local entrepreneur, said that farmers are now earning better profits due to the growing demand for herbs from domestic companies making medicinal and personal care products. Baghban said, “The officials of the Ministry of AYUSH are educating farmers to cultivate suitable crops based on the condition of soil, water and air in their respective areas. They also provide the necessary training and planting material to help them make this transition to farming.
The official said that this change in cultivation of medicinal plants has revived the fields of the farmers and has created a new ray of hope among the community. More than 3,000 farmers are already cultivating herbs and aromatic plants in the Chenab region of Jammu and Kashmir, of which 2,500 are located in Bhaderwah alone. Naveed Butt, a farmer from Sartingal village, said, “Earlier, we used dogs and even used air guns to scare away the monkeys.
But it was difficult to keep the monkeys away and we were about to give up farming, said Butt. But for the last two years, after switching from traditional maize to cultivation of medicinal plants, these monkeys have been kept away. Apart from this, we are expecting good profit. The monkey population has increased since the central government banned their export in 1978 for biomedical research. The problem is further aggravated by the worship and feeding of monkeys by many people.
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However, the effect of these monkeys is felt most in hilly areas like Chenab region in Jammu and Kashmir due to the reduction of forest cover. Taking care of the crop round-the-clock is a challenge, especially when our fields are not close to home, said Shabnam Begum, a farmer from Kahi village. Turning to medicinal plants has given us a new hope. Ayush has given us a new hope.
