KOCHI: Shelju Subramaniam, 40, whose grandfather migrated from Adimali to Kanthalloor, considered the vegetable bowl of Kerala, some 40 years back, has relocated from Idukki’s high ranges to the plains of Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam.
Reason: The wild elephants that have been destroying his farm for the past couple of years.
“I own 2.5 acres of land there (Kanthalloor), but I used to cultivate 20-25 acres after taking more land on lease. I have now decided to quit farming in Kanthalloor as animals have started venturing into human settlements and are destroying our crops. Everyone seems to be leaving,” says Shelju, two-time recipient of the state government’s ‘best farmer’ award.
He has purchased about an acre near Muvattupuzha, where he has cut down rubber trees to grow crops suited to the area.
Another farmer Sebastian, 57, says a big problem in Kanthalloor is the unhindered growth of eucalyptus grandis trees on the land purchased by outsiders who do not live there.
“They come here once every three or five years to cut down and sell the trees. These trees near human habitations are where elephants take shelter during the day and enter the farms at night,” says Sebastian, adding that wild elephants destroyed his sabarjilli (pear) farms and motorcycle recently.
“I have stopped farming now, and am going to a resort nearby to earn my livelihood,” says Sebastian, who owns about 67 cents in Kanthalloor.
Fr Stanley Pulprayil, the vicar of St Mary’s Forane Church, Karimannoor near Thodupuzha, says his church has had 20-25 new families in the last five years or so, all of whom have vacated their properties on the hills due to wild animal attacks.
“The high ranges are getting vacant, slowly. The people are leaving, but without selling their properties. They go there once in a while to look after the property,” Fr Stanley says.
Alex Ozhukayil, chairman of Kerala Independent Farmers Association (KIFA), says wild animal attacks and the government’s indifferent attitude to deal with the issue are forcing people in the Malabar region too to leave their farms in the hills.
“Settlers of Koorachundu and Chakkittapara in Kozhikode, and Kottiyoor in Kannur, are looking to quit farming as wild animals, including elephants, wild boars and monkeys, continue to wreck their crops,” Alex says.
So, in a slow but obvious reverse migration trend in Kerala, families are returning to the plains more than 100 years after their forefathers from Central Travancore cleared the forests and tilled the soil in the hills of Idukki and Malabar to grow a range of crops from paddy to tapioca, coconut to rubber, and pepper to cardamom.
While the first set of internal migration took place from 1829 when Travancore rulers encouraged farmers to settle in the high ranges of Idukki and cultivate cardamom, it accelerated during World War II (1939-1945), with food scarcity acting as the catalyst.
This led the Travancore king to announce the ‘Grow more food scheme’ promoting migration. It is reckoned over 1 lakh people migrated to Malabar between 1945 and 1960, as their settlements helped in the establishment of roads, schools and hospitals in the high ranges.
The trend may accelerate if the government continues to remain aloof, says M M Abbas, who has been carrying out organic farming on a 1-acre plot in Kanthalloor for the past 20 years.
“I will be forced to end cultivation in Kanthalloor due to wild animal menace. The focus of the government is on tourism, and what we are seeing is its bad effects. More and more resorts and homestays are coming up on a fragile area of Kanthalloor. The resort employees and tourists place food items near the premises to attract elephants and sambar deer. Given the decline of food sources inside the forest, the smell of bananas cultivated by farmers also attract wild elephants from a distance of more than 4km,” explains Abbas.
In recent days, two persons died in a road accident in Kerala after a wild boar jumped onto their vehicles. Two elephants died near Kanthalloor due to electrocution in the past one week.
Citing an example, Abbas said a farmer used to earn around Rs 5 lakh from five acres. “In the past two years, he has got nothing. In fact, he lost Rs 10 lakh,” he said.
Consider this: Two years ago, about 100 truckloads of vegetables used to be transported from Kanthalloor during Onam. These included cabbage, beans and carrots. Last year, we did not have even 30 loads. This year, it was less than 10,” said Abbas.
Kanthalloor and Vattavada can produce 50 per cent of Kerala’s winter vegetable and fruit requirements such as cabbage, carrot, tomatoes and the like. Vattavada in Idukki is regarded as the fruit-bowl of Kerala where a wide variety of fruits such as apples, oranges, strawberries, guavas, pears, blackberries, plums, and passion fruits.
The big question is whether the government would show its commitment towards the farmers and ensure their protection from recurring wild animal attacks.
Causes for menace
According to organic farmer M M Abbas, the government’s focus on tourism is contributing to the rise in wild animal menace. More and more resorts and homestays are coming up on a fragile area of Kanthalloor
Resort employees place food items near the premises to attract elephants