The agriculture department will give subsidy to farmers to buy equipment that will help keep away wild animals and protect crops.
Agriculture minister Prem Kumar said: "We will give farmers subsidy on purchase of bioacoustics equipment to help them stop entry of blue bulls and boars into their fields."
"The equipment plays animal call recordings, which act as deterrent for blue bull and wild boar. Low-intensity electric current in the wire activates the equipment as soon as an intruder touches a thin wire surrounding the field," a senior agriculture department official told The Telegraph.
"Blue bulls and wild boars damage our vegetables and maize. The machine will protect our crops. But the government must ensure that farmers get the machine easily and don't need to worry much about its maintenance," said Mokama-based farmer Anand Murari.
The department has included the equipment in the list of agricultural implements on which farmers get government subsidy. The scheme will offer farmers bioacoustics equipment with solar panel at half the price, the upper limit of subsidy being Rs 20,000 in case of general farmers, and Rs 25,000 in cases of those from SC/ST communities. For equipment without solar panels, the subsidy percentage will remain the same but the upper limit of subsidy will dip to Rs 15,000 for general category farmers and Rs 19,000 for the SC/ST ones.
Sources in the agriculture department said these equipment are usually sold between Rs 30,000 and Rs 45,000 a piece depending on its type. One machine works in a 4-hectare radius.
A department official said estimates suggested that intrusion of wild animals into fields in riverine areas of Ganga cause damage of Rs 1.3 crore to Rs 1.7 crore to crops every year, with blue bulls inflicting the highest (18 per cent) damage.
The department has not put any limit on funds for the scheme. "Instead of making it a target-based subsidy scheme, the department has opted for the demand-driven subsidy amount, which will be in accordance with the number of machine buyers," said the official.
