KOLKATA: Yam is not quite yum, so farmers of Kalchini block in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district have begun planting these tubers to keep marauding elephants at bay.
Fed up with repeated attacks by pachyderms targeting valuable cash crops, almost all the farmers of Kalchini have begun planting yam, which causes food pipes to itch in both humans and animals, to thwart the elephant forays into their cultivated fields.
This deterrence has had its desired effect in stopping the elephants from plundering paddy, vegetable, betel or areca nut crops.
This is attested to by Deputy Agriculture Officer (Administration) Harishranjan Roy who said that the yam cultivation method has so far proved effective to stop the elephants from raiding the other crops.
Roy said that his department “plans to use the same method in other parts of Alipurduar district that elephants target”.
Kalchini adjoins Buxa tiger reserve and the elephant herds in this area usually make their forays after sunset.
Ghanashyam Chetri, a farmer, said his finances took a hit as cultivating cash crops became impossible because of the menace.
“The betel nut crops were completely destroyed as an elephant herd rampaged about in an overnight attack. Last year, I learnt that yam is not preferred by elephants. I planted yam and it has produced excellent results,” a much-relieved Chetri said.
Yam is sold at wholesale markets for `30-35 per kg. An entire root, which is fleshy and starchy, can weigh between 5 and 10 kg. Another farmer, Jogesh Sutradhar, echoed Chetri’s plight.
“Last year, the paddy crop was ripe for harvesting and I planned to do so the next day. In the morning, I found that the entire crop had been destroyed. This was followed by many other attacks. This time, yam, which has a good demand in the markets of the Dooars and Bhutan, did the trick. The elephants stayed away. "
Keeping away from the itchy tuber
Additional Divisional Forest Officer Partha Pratim Tripathi said yams cause itching in the oesophagus.
“So elephants pass by yam fields and not venture into fields where other crops are grown,” he said.