We have often heard about wild animals damaging crops across the country. But in Largyab Gewog of Dagana, it is the rats that are causing menace. Farmers say over 26 acres of maize fields of seven villages in the gewog were destroyed by the rats.
It is estimated that the farmers lost around 31,700 kilograms of maize worth Nu 570,340.
They are now worried they could be left with nothing to harvest this season. And guarding the fields against the rats’, farmers say, is futile.
“Five to eight rats attack a single maize plant. In a night, the rats’ damages around 40 decimals of our maize field,” Suk Prasad Gurung said.
“With rats destroying even maize yields in the granary, I think we will be left without seeds for the next season,” Bahadur Gurung from Barna Chiwog, said.
“We even used pesticides provided by the agriculture sector, but it didn’t help,” Kalu Ram Gurung also from Barna Chiwog, said.
“In my chiwog, the rats have destroyed the maize fields of five households. We are hoping the government would provide us with compensation. We already submitted a report to the Gewog,” Kinley Namgay, the Baloong Chiwog’s Tshogpa, said.
The Largyab Gup Dhan Bahadur Gurung said they have access the extent of the damage and submitted the report to the dzongkhag.
“We hope that the dzongkhag will come up with measures. From the Gewog side, we are planning to provide maize seeds to the 23 affected households.”
The agriculture officials say the increasing number of rats is due to the flowering season of bamboos in the nearby forest. The flowering cycle of bamboo varies depending on the species but in general bamboo, flowering intervals can be as long as 20-120 years.
“Largyab is one of the remote Gewogs and most of the fields are near the forest, the rats who fed on the bamboo flowers must be also encroaching the maize fields and damaging the crops,” Prem Dhan Limbu, the Agriculture Extension Supervisor, said.
“ We have also provided the farmers with Zinc Phosphate to kill the rats and they are also encouraged to keep cats. They have been advised to store their harvest in sacks with proper ventilation.”
Lagyrab Gewog has about 212 households.
