Concluding the examination of samples from the ten dead elephants of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, has stated that it is indeed the Kodo millet that killed the large mammals.

Dr Abhijit Pawde, Principal Scientist at the institute has confirmed that high levels of myctoxin Cyclopiazonic Acid (CPA) were found in the samples.Kodo, a low-maintenance millet grown by marginal farmers on the periphery of the Bandhavgarh forest, is particularly susceptible to CPA contamination due to damp weather and improper harvesting practices, according to research published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology.

Wildlife officials overseeing the post-mortem confirmed that large amounts of Kodo were found in the elephants' stomachs.Local farmers, however, refute the official claims.

They assert that they have been eating the millet and feeding it to their livestock for generations.The controversy comes at a time when Kodo millet, a rain-fed crop, was seen as a way to lift farmers from the extreme poverty they have long faced.After decades of being overshadowed by staple grains like wheat and rice, Kodo recently gained prominence when the United Nations declared 2023 the International Year of Millets.

Amid a significant expansion of the market for multigrain atta—to which Kodo is also added—the Madhya Pradesh government announced a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for its production in June this year.Farmers are now worried that the elephant deaths may have killed their hopes of the hardy crop, growing in nearly barren fields, leading them out of poverty.

Meanwhile, wildlife officials are still stationed at the neighbouring Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve to monitor the movement of the wild elephants, ten of whom died between October 29-31 while a young calf perished under treatment on November 10.Wildlife officials have categorically denied the possibility of the deaths being caused by human-elephant conflict. They insist that Kodo killed the wild animals.