PANAJI:
The rabi paddy crop losses in Goa may be much higher than originally thought and the Agriculture Department has increased the scope of its assessment survey beyond the three southernmost talukas of Quepem, Sanguem and Canacona.
Initially thought to be affecting about 50 farmers in these talukas over an area of about 10 hectares, Agriculture officials have assessed many more farmers some even in Salcete taluka to have lost their entire rabi paddy crop due to the spell of heavy showers and cyclonic winds.
According to Agriculture Director Sandeep Fol Desai, the damage to the rabi paddy crop may extend to up to 40-50 hectares.
He said the department's exercise to assess the losses will be completed in the next two-three days after which the process of seeking applications for compensation under the 'Shetkari Nidhi Yojna' scheme will commence.
Fol Desai said, the whole process until the farmers actually receive the compensation which could be up to Rs 40,000 per hectare will take about a month or little more than that.
The department is also trying to increase the amount of compensation per hectare but the final call on it will have to be taken by the Government, he added.
The losses will be assessed by factoring both cultivation costs as well as the value of the crop based on average yield.
Paddy farmers in Goa have often faced weather related adversities in recent years denting in a way the boost paddy farming got post the Covid-19 pandemic and significant increase in mechanisation of sowing and harvesting operations aided by subsidies from the Agriculture Department.
Last year, over 2,500 farmers from across the State faced crop damage in the Kharif season when extreme rainfall through the month of July flooded khazan and low-lying fields across the State. All these farmers who filed claims before their respective Zonal Agriculture Officers (ZAOs) were paid out compensation by the government to the tune of Rs 3.5 crore.
