Goa’s political class has taken the ‘Goemkarponn’ challenge a tad too forward, egging one another to show their love for agriculture and set examples of farming. Goa Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai led from the front by propagating a unique and alien concept to Goan farming. He asked farmers to chant vedic mantras in their fields and adopt cosmic farming techniques to increase yield. God save our crops and our farmers.
Somewhere in a nearby field, Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco has taken the wheels of a tractor, just the way he would drive a truck, to prove his love for farming. Reginaldo heaved a heavenly sigh of relief and for a moment it just looked like the Curtorim MLA would make farming a part of his routine.
In distant Porvorim, MLA Rohan Khaunte attired in a brand new Nirma-white vest and a farmer’s turban, responded to Reginaldo’s call and tried to plough a nearby field only to struggle and get the best possible photo-pose. It may have caught the onlookers by surprise, as much as it amused the bulls that were literally dragging the legislators through the muck.
While it is but certain that these field trips were purely for the media glare, these legislators ended up making a mockery of farming rather than doing it any good. Our farmers who are tuned to traditional ways are suddenly enlightened on outlandish concepts like chanting of vedic mantras and cosmic farming.
If ministers are serious about Goa’s agriculture then they should first address the bigger issues that are plaguing the sector. Legislators should ban conversion of agricultural land first while also looking closely at the acres of such green land illegally converted. If politicos are serious about agriculture than Regional Plan 2021 should be immediately scrapped since a major part of agricultural land is shown as settlement.
Khaunte as revenue minister and Vijai as agriculture minister should tackle the bulk of the farming issues and first implement the laws which are already in place, rather than watch helplessly and allow misuse. They need to address why tenancy issues have still not been resolved till now and why tenants are not given rights. If Vijai talks about bringing more land under cultivation, he has to also look into large tracts of agricultural land kept fallow year after year.
Ministers need to answer why Khazan lands are not being protected and why comunidade lands are being illegally sold. We need answers on the ambitious soil testing done some years ago which still remains buried somewhere. We need answers on the misuse of agriculture machinery that is being misused for private purposes.
If we are looking at a green revolution, it’s not the farmer from Porvorim, Fatorda or Curtorim. Government should engage with agriculturists from Pernem to Canacona and get their feedback. These one-day photo-shoots will not enthuse Goans.
