BAITADI: Farmers across Baitadi district are being forced to stay in their fields day and night after wild animals began destroying standing crops, particularly maize and vegetables.
Reports from various parts of the district indicate growing concern as wild boars, deer, monkeys, and even bears have been raiding farms. Wild boars, in particular, have caused widespread damage to maize crops across all 10 local levels in the district.
In Dogadakedar Rural Municipality, local resident Chandra Singh Bista said that the destruction of maize fields has left farmers anxious and constantly on alert.
“Despite staying awake all night and putting up tents to guard our fields, we’re still unable to protect the maize crops,” Bista lamented. Puran Singh Air of Purchaudi Municipality added that farmers now fear food shortages, as the maize—just beginning to ripen—is being destroyed before harvest.
As Baitadi is a key maize-producing district, a maize zone program has been implemented in Dasharathchand Municipality, Patan Municipality, Surnaya Rural Municipality, Pancheshwor Rural Municipality, and Dogadakedar Rural Municipality. However, farmers under the program are still struggling.
Bhawana Bhatta, Deputy Technical Assistant at the Maize Zone Office, confirmed that farmers across these areas are facing persistent challenges in protecting their crops.
Ram Dutta Bhatta, a farmer from Pancheshwor Rural Municipality-04, said crop damage has become an annual problem. “We camp in our fields every year to guard the maize, but wild boars still find ways to destroy it,” he said. “We have to stay up for almost two months each year just to protect our harvest.”
Maize is cultivated on approximately 12,100 hectares in Baitadi. However, due to recurring losses caused by wildlife, many farmers have begun abandoning maize farming altogether, leaving their fields fallow.
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