Hanish Khan, Chandu Rathod and Vipul Karanjawkar may not bethe sons of this soil but they toil in the Goan farms to produce organicvegetables, fruits and crops that have an increasing demand in the localmarket. “My father polished marble in Goa for 18 years but after my 12th examsI chose to opt for organic farming,” says Hanish, 23 whose family owns ‘dhaibeegha jameen’ at Mainpuri in UP which he wishes to revive making it a way oflife.
Labour is not scarce as farmers from neighbouring stateswillingly move to Goa in search of jobs, whenever the monsoons fail them. “Igrow onions, cotton, kidney beans, ground nuts, moong, toor, sunflower, chiliesand jowar in my farm and am now offering my labour to Goans. All I need ismonthly salary and food,” says Chandu, a born farmer from Karnataka. Youngenthusiastic graduates like Vipul, who have understood that organic is themantra of the future, know that physical labour on the farm is equal to doingan expensive MBA course. Vipul plans to spend five years working in Goan farms.“My father is a goldsmith in Maharashtra but I chose to be in Goa to experimentin organic farming,” he shares.
For Christabel Pinto, the abandoned family farm at Taleigaoturned out to be a boon since the time she revived it with the help of acatalyst couple “ Yogita Mehra and Karan Manral “ who has been dedicatedlyhelping out those who wish to do organic farming in its various forms “ paddycrops, fruits, vegetables, kitchen gardens, terrace gardens, herbal and spiceplantations. “Though the returns are not immediate and one has to keep pumpingmoney in for the initial period till the soil condition is restored, but oncethe soil regains its original richness, we can expect golden harvest,” admitsChristabel, an IT professional who is determined to give a new lease of life tothe 200-year-old ancestral farmland of her in-laws.
“I have open budget for my farm,” affirms green messengerVito Gomes who flies back every month to his ancestral farm at Taleigaon fromwhichever corner of the globe he is and this for the past 10 years. People inGoa have been restoring their fallow farms by ‘green manuring’, a process ofgrowing certain crops on land/garden in order to improve soil fertility. Itconsists of growing mainly leguminous crops that are known to fix nitrogen intothe soil as they grow. In addition, other seeds are also grown so that they canadd bio-mass into the soil, which on decomposing improves soil texture.
Cattle are scarce and so is cow dung in urban areas. Hencecomposting and green manuring are easier and cheaper ways of improving soil.“Remember, if you are growing organically then use more compost for productiveand healthy plants,” advises Yogita while Karan offers valuable tips oncomposting, “Use garden waste (mix green and brown materials with panchagavya(cow dung slurry) in alternating layers or kitchen waste. Regularly manage themoisture and provide aeration by turning the pile over to avoid a bad smell. Itcan attract rodents, especially if there is non-veg waste.”
“The Goan soil is very receptive. It takes less time to turnfertile and gives good yield,” states Yogita and Karan, who began experimentswith the Goan soil two years ago in Albertina Almeida’s ancestral farm atTaleigao. This farm has remained as a base for their experimentation whereDeer’s Tongue, Salad Bowl, Lettuce, Chinese Cabbage, Greeshma, Cluster Beans,Round Red Radish, Tomatoes, Brinjal, Carrots, Palak, Methi, Tambdi Bhaji,Radish etc are grown.
