Nepal Farmers Use AI to Outsmart Crop-Raiding Monkeys

In Birta Deurali, a village in central Nepal, farmers used to guard their fields in two-hour shifts around the clock to keep hungry rhesus macaques from destroying their crops. Now, artificial intelligence is offering them a smarter way to protect their harvest.

Researcher Progress Jung Thapa at Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology built a system using cameras and lightweight computers trained on over 4,000 images of monkeys. The technology can spot macaques with 88% accuracy and even interpret what they're doing—whether they're watching, moving, or already eating crops.

"If a monkey is still watching, the farmer has time," Thapa explained. "If it is already feeding, the response has to be immediate."

When the system spots a threat, it sends an instant alert to the farmer's phone. This matters because nearly half of the rhesus macaques' diet in central Nepal comes from cultivated crops, according to a 2026 study, putting enormous pressure on rural farming families.

Meanwhile, Santosh Giri at Tribhuvan University is developing a system that pairs AI detection with an ultrasonic deterrent to actually repel the monkeys without harming them. The deterrent hasn't been tested in real farm conditions yet, but the approach shows promise.

The technology still faces real challenges. Heavy rain or dense plants can reduce the cameras' accuracy, and even with phone alerts, many farmers lack enough workers to respond quickly.

Experts also point out that monkeys are incredibly adaptable. "If deterrents do not represent real risk, they may eventually stop responding," warned wildlife researcher Naresh Subedi.

The Ripple Effect

This innovation addresses a problem that Nepal has recognized for years but struggled to solve. Compensation for crop damage hasn't kept pace with the growing conflict between wildlife and farmers, leaving families to absorb devastating losses alone.

While the government formed a task force in May 2026 to evaluate relief systems, no report has been released yet. That makes grassroots solutions like Thapa's and Giri's even more valuable as they put problem-solving power directly in farmers' hands.

The approach also models how technology can help people coexist with wildlife instead of choosing between conservation and survival. As these systems improve and become more affordable, they could protect both farmers' livelihoods and monkey populations that are vital to Nepal's ecosystems.

For now, farmers in central Nepal finally have hope that they won't spend every night guarding fields from intelligent, persistent crop raiders.