Keralam Doubles Compensation for Wildlife Crop Damage, Removes Payment Caps After 10 Years

The Keralam government has doubled compensation for farmers whose crops are damaged by wildlife attacks, revising the rates for the first time in a decade and removing limits on the amount payable and the number of claims farmers can file.

The revised compensation rates were announced in an official statement on Friday, October 23. The earlier rates had remained unchanged since 2015, despite concerns that the financial assistance offered to farmers was inadequate to cover their losses.

Under the new rules, farmers will receive ₹15 for every coconut and ₹30 per kilogram of cocoa damaged by wildlife. Previously, compensation for these crops was available only when the coconut or cocoa trees themselves were destroyed, leaving farmers without assistance for damage to the produce alone.

A significant change is the removal of the ceiling on compensation and restrictions on the number of applications a farmer can submit. The move is expected to provide greater financial relief to cultivators who repeatedly suffer losses from wildlife incursions.

The Forest Department initiated the revision after finding that the existing compensation rates were insufficient to meet farmers' needs. The decision comes amid continuing concerns over the impact of wildlife attacks on agricultural livelihoods, particularly for farmers dependent on crops such as coconut and cocoa.

However, farmers must follow the prescribed procedure to claim compensation. They are required to report damage to crops or agricultural produce to the concerned authorities within two weeks of the incident and submit applications in the prescribed format within six months of the damage.

The government has retained the existing eligibility conditions and procedures for verifying applicants' claims. This means the removal of payment and application limits does not eliminate the requirement to establish eligibility.

By expanding compensation to cover damaged produce, not just destroyed trees, and removing financial ceilings, the revised rules seek to address gaps in the earlier system and offer farmers a more responsive mechanism for recovering losses caused by wildlife attacks.