After relentless rains, farmers race to salvage ready-to-harvest paddy
PANAJI
After days of relentless rainfall that threatened standing paddy crops across Goa, a welcome spell of sunshine has rekindled hope among the farming community. With the harvest season underway, the sudden change in weather has raised cautious optimism that at least a portion of the ready-to-harvest paddy can still be salvaged.
Director of Agriculture Sandeep Fol Desai acknowledged the possibility of recovery, stating that the outcome would largely depend on the condition of individual fields.
“Depending on the situation in the fields of individual farmers, it is quite likely that some of the crop may be salvaged if this sunny weather continues for a few days,” he said. However, he refrained from detailing the specific steps farmers would need to take to minimise losses.
The recent downpour, attributed to an extreme climate event—a cyclone hitting the coast of Andhra Pradesh and the deep, lingering depression in the Arabian Sea—left many farmers staring at potential financial ruin. In response, the Goa government has stepped in with a compensation package aimed at cushioning the blow.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced on Thursday that affected farmers would be eligible for compensation of up to Rs 40,000 per hectare, capped at Rs 1.6 lakh per farmer for a maximum of four hectares. The disbursement will be made after regional agriculture officers certify the extent of damage by December this year. The funds for this relief effort will be sourced from the ‘Shetkari Adhar Nidhi’, a State-sector scheme designed to support farmers during times of distress.
The scheme has been instrumental in past years in providing critical financial aid to those farmers impacted by climate-related agricultural losses. In 2022-23, the State had disbursed Rs 1.64 crore to nearly 1,000 farmers. The following year, 2023-24, saw a slight increase, with Rs 2.07 crore distributed among a similar number of beneficiaries. However, the most significant jump came in the current fiscal year, 2024-25, when over 5,000 farmers received a total of Rs 6.78 crore in compensation—more than triple the previous year’s amount.
This surge in payouts underscores the growing vulnerability of agriculture, particularly the common paddy cultivation in both kharif as well as rabi seasons in Goa, to erratic weather patterns. The trend has alarmed farmers and environmentalists but is yet to awaken policymakers and governments in Goa.
While the government’s swift response has been welcomed, experts say the situation demands longer-term climate resilience strategies, including better drainage systems, early warning mechanisms, and crop diversification.
For now, all eyes are on the skies. If the sunny weather persists, many farmers hope to salvage at least part of their crop, reducing their dependence on compensation. “It’s a race against time,” said a farmer from North Goa. “We’re praying the sun stays out long enough for us to get into the fields and save what we can.”
As the State navigates the dual challenges of climate unpredictability and agricultural sustainability, the resilience of its farmers—and the responsiveness of its institutions—will both be put to the test again.
---
IMD data highlights climate challenges for Goan farmers
PANAJI: Information and India Meteorological Department (IMD) reports available in the public domain show that Goa's farming sector has been adversely affected by unseasonal and excessive rainfall that caused flooding, waterlogging, and significant crop damage over the last four to five years.
The pattern of extreme weather has impacted both the kharif (monsoon) and rabi (winter) farming seasons in different ways during these years.
In all three kharif seasons of 2022, 2023, and 2024, Goa's farmers were battered by one or another extreme climate event. If not excessive rainfall submerging fields with floods, a lack of rainfall when the crop needed it most has burdened them.
In the 2024 monsoon season, rains began earlier than usual, which, combined with other rainfall fluctuations, led to further waterlogging. Then came the cyclonic storm Asna, causing heavy rainfall and flooding in late August and early September, thus damaging paddy fields at the seedling or transplanting stage.
Rabi seasons in these years (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25) were also affected by heavy, post-monsoon unseasonal rains, flattening and damaging ready-to-harvest paddy crops and other winter vegetables. This was reported in areas like Canacona in 2023 and Sattari in 2024.
