MARGAO
This progressive farmer from Rawanfond, who along with co-farmers had stopped the government from converting lush green agricultural fields into a concrete jungle, has tried his hands with the cultivation of black rice.
His forays into black rice cultivation, though on a small scale, has yielded rich dividends as he harvested around one quintal of the much-sought-after black rice on his farm.
Senior agriculture officers, including Margao Zonal Agriculture Officer, Sheriff Furtado and other officials, who visited Rawanfond to witness the harvesting of the black rice, patted farmer Claudius Dias for his bold initiative into black rice cultivation. “I tried my hands in black rice cultivation to find out whether our local soil and weather conditions are conducive to the new variety,” he said.
He added: After procuring five kilograms of black rice seeds from the Agriculture Department at a rate of Rs 450 per kg, I raise the crop on land measuring 1000 square metres. I was told beforehand that the yield of black rice is normally half that of the other varieties of paddy. With God’s grace, my efforts have borne fruit as I have harvested around 100 kg of black rice,” he said.
Claudius said he would give a portion of the black rice to the Agriculture Department to motivate other farmers and bring them into black rice cultivation. “The black rice has a huge demand in the market with a kilogram of the variety pegged around Rs 450 per kg,” he said.
Claudius along with other farmers has so far foiled all plans to convert the fertile agricultural fields located opposite the Margao railway station into a concrete jungle. The beleaguered farmers have been cultivating the agricultural fields acquired by the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) opposite the Margao railway station to set up a transportation centre around a decade and a half ago.
