Farmers lament financial losses sustained from jumbo intrusions
Farmers lament financial losses sustained from jumbo intrusions
The Star
March 14, 2025
See link
https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2025/03/14/farmers-lament-financial-losses-sustained-from-jumbo-intrusions
for photo.
For villagers and farmers in Gerik, the presence of elephants often results
in the destruction of crops and property. The hardest hit are rubber
plantation owners in Kampung Tanjung Rimbun I and II, who have suffered
significant losses. Although the government provides compensation, the
plantation owners claim that it is insufficient to offset their losses.As a
result, some farmers have given up and abandoned their plantations
altogether. Kampung Bandariang village chief Ibrahim Che Wan, 62, said
elephants had been disturbing plantations in Kampung Tanjung Rimbun I and
II for the last two years. “They come to eat and then topple the trees. “As
of October 2024, I believe Perhilitan has relocated 24 animals from Kampung
Bandariang. “Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) and
Perhilitan have installed electric fences in plantations frequently
disturbed by elephants, focusing on newly replanted farms as these are the
most targeted,” said Ibrahim.
He explained that farmers typically plant 640 rubber trees on a 1.6ha plot,
but when elephants invade, more than 500 trees could be destroyed.
Smallholder Muhammad Ghazali Nasia, 63, feels constant anxiety while
tapping rubber trees on his 1.6ha plantation, which he has managed since
1995. “I have never encountered an elephant, but I still feel scared
because my farm was invaded by the animals last year. “I planted 780 rubber
trees, but the elephants destroyed more than 500. “When I reported it to
Perhilitan, I received about RM3,000 in compensation, but it wasn’t enough
to cover my losses, as I earn around RM100 per day from the trees,” said
Ghazali.
Muhammad Hisham Shamsuddin, 47, who once managed a durian orchard in
Kampung Tanjung Rimbun II, has since abandoned his farm after an elephant
intrusion last year. “I bought 0.5ha of land for about RM40,000 in 2020. “I
planted 70 Musang King and Black Thorn durian saplings. “After four years,
the elephants came and that was the end of my farm. “Now, only four or five
trees remain. “I lost hundreds of thousands of ringgit, including the cost
of fertiliser, pesticides and labour. “If things were going as planned, I
would start harvesting in 2026,” said Hisham, who now works as a rubber
tapper.
Meanwhile, Hermy Hasan, 42, a rubber plantation owner in Kampung Tanjung
Rimbun I, said elephant disturbances in the village began in 2015.
“Previously, they would destroy trees and then return to the forest. “But
between 2019 and 2020, they started destroying trees and settling in the
area. “Replanting became pointless – we would plant, watch the trees grow
for five years, only for the elephants to come and knock them down. “The
same happened to fruit orchards. We desperately need a long-term solution,”
said Hermy, who planted 1,200 rubber trees in 2016 but now has fewer than
200 remaining.