Assessment of Crop Damage by Wild Animals and Renewable Energy Interventions -A Case Study from Coastal Odisha, India

Abstract

Wild animals cause special challenge to the farmers across the globe. Forest animals such as elephant, wild boar and deer etc. migrate in to the nearby agricultural fields in search of food and caused a huge damage to the crops not only by eating but also by trampling the crops by foot, in some areas crop damage to the extent of 50-60% and sometimes 100% crop is damaged by wild animals. This paper presents the assessment of crop damage caused by wild animals in eastern coastal region of Odisha and discussed about the feasibility and economic aspects of installation of an acoustic equipment to keep the wild animals away from the agricultural fields. It was found that by installing only one acoustic equipment in crop land, a financial benefit of INR 42,700 per annum can be obtained.