Wayanad

 

Wayanad is home to some of India's oldest coffee, tea, and cardamom plantations, but its primary form of agriculture is homestead farming. Smallholdings cultivate coconuts, areca nut, pepper, papaya, and various fruits like mango and jackfruit. The undulating valleys are ideal for paddy fields. While it's renowned for tourism, offering exceptional trekking and bird-watching, Wayanad faces acute effects of climate change, such as increased temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns, leading to water scarcity and crop failures. As forests, home to 325 globally threatened species, shrink due to deforestation, human-animal conflict rises, with reports of tigers preying on cattle, bears causing havoc, and elephants damaging property, underscoring the urgent need for conservation efforts.

The landscape of Wayanad