Mustard Cultivation Emerges as a Sustainable Solution to Strengthen Human–Elephant Coexistence in Udalguri

way2barak, Nov 29: To strengthen support for communities living in high human-elephant conflict (HEC) zones, Aaranyak with support from LIC HFL’s CSR initiative, has continued its efforts to promote mustard cultivation as an elephant‐resistant crop. Mustard, being a less palatable crop for elephants, offers a practical and sustainable alternative for farmers frequently affected by depredation on crops like paddy by elephants.

As part of this initiative, 150 kg of mustard seeds were distributed to 45 farmers during October-November 2025, across the villages of Rangapani, No. 1 Sikaridanga, No. 2 Sikaridanga, and No. 1 Samrang, No. 3 located in the Mazbat Development Block and Bholatar, Nonaikhas, No. 2 Samrang, and Garuajhar under the Bhergaon Development Block of Udalguri District, Assam.

Udalguri is one of the districts in Assam that experiences frequent crop damage during seasonal elephant movement, especially during the paddy-growing and harvesting periods. Since a majority of households depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, even moderate crop loss significantly impacts their income and food security.

In this context, mustard cultivation has emerged as a safer and more viable option. While elephants may occasionally enter mustard fields, they rarely feed on the crop, leading to a marked reduction in crop-raiding incidents and subsequent loss and damage to crops. This shift not only supports human–elephant coexistence but also enhances livelihood stability for local farming communities. The intervention was implemented following a need assessment survey conducted among the local communities for identifying the most feasible choices of alternative crops to address the impact of elephant depredation, and climate change.