Why can elephants come into conflict with farmers?

Conflict between elephants and farmers primarily arises from competition for resources and the destruction of agricultural property. As herbivores that require vast amounts of food and water daily, elephants may enter croplands to consume or damage crops such as bananas, rice, and sugarcane.21

This human-elephant conflict is exacerbated by habitat loss and fragmentation, which force elephants into closer proximity with human settlements as they search for food and shelter. When elephants forage in these agricultural areas, the resulting damage to harvests is deeply resented by farmers, leading to confrontations that can result in the deaths of both humans and elephants.234