Bio-fencing: A sustainable solution for livestock based integrated farming system in Northeast India

Abstract

 Efforts to increase food production across India have relied on the intensification of established farms, as well as the expansion of farming activities into previously wild areas. Farms at agricultural frontiers face distinct challenges from those in historically farmed regions and require distinct support structures. Farmers near wilderness areas reported wild boar (Susscrofa), as well as free-ranging domestic animals such as buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and mithun (Bosfrontalis), as major constraints to production. Farmers did not receive support or advice to mitigate crop foraging and human-wildlife conflict; instead, they relied heavily on repellence (human activated) responses, such as early warning systems and active scaring. In an effort to improve capacity building initiatives, bio-fencing could mitigate farmer-animal conflict through practical farm-level solutions and therefore, could be promoted during training programs for farmers facing challenges from free range animals in such a biologically diverse region. A bio-fence takes several years to become an established barrier. However once established it doesn’t require much maintenance although gaps in the bio-fence should be filled with additional plants. As a bio-fence is not easy to be removed, it makes a sustainable solution. Therefore, it can be used as an alternative to livestock based integrated farming systems in the north eastern hill (NEH) region of India