The animal census to be undertaken in Sri Lanka is aimed at assessing annual crop damage in the island country. Officials said that forms have been distributed to the households in the country to fill in the data.
Sri Lanka is geared up to conduct its first-ever animal census as the island nation will count toque monkeys, purple-faced langurs, giant squirrels, and peacocks between 8 and 8:05 am (local time) on Saturday. Notably, the census will not include elephants, officials said. The animal census is aimed at assessing the impact of human-wildlife conflict on the annual crop damage that Sri Lanka suffers.
The data generated from the animal census will come in handy for assessing crop losses and action needed to minimise the impact on animals, J Pushpakumara, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, said.
When asked to explain the annual crop loss, Pushpakumara referred to a 2022 census carried out in over 200 agricultural areas and said, “The estimated loss during six months was 93 million coconuts, maize, vegetables, and fruit crops, amounting to SLR 30 billion.
“We hope everyone will participate and extend support to this valuable exercise,” GVV Shamini, Additional Director for Development from the Department of Agriculture, told reporters.
She said around 40,000 state officials covering the over 14,200 administrative units nationwide will be deployed for the census.
Officials said they anticipated 80 per cent accuracy in the census, dismissing criticism from farmer organisations that the five-minute census would be a farce. They underscored that households have been delivered a form to fill in the data.
(With inputs from AP)
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