MARGAO
Smiles lit the faces of the Chairman of the Novar Khazan Tenants Association, Curtorim and the farmers alike as their initiative to cultivate two lakh square metres of khazan fields in the village have paid huge dividends.
In fact, Association Chairman Rui Menezes informed that the farmers have reaped a bumper paddy harvest. Even as three harvesting machines were in the khazan harvesting the paddy, Rui has estimated that the paddy yield may cross 70,000 kilograms, around seventy tonnes this time round.
What’s significant to note is that the Association had for the first time deployed a transplanter to transplant paddy in the khazan fields, thanks to the help and assistance extended by the Paddy Man of Goa, Fr George Quadros.
The incessant and heavy rains also did not cause much damage to the crops as evident by the bumper harvest.
The Novar Khazan Tenants Association Chairman informed that the farmers had decided to cultivate around two lakh square metres of the khazan fields this season with jaya variety.
“Our experiment with Jaya paddy as well to go for mechanical transplanting of the paddy paid dividends. Of the total two lakh square metres of land, one lakh square metres was transplanted with machines, while the balance was done as usual by women labourers”, he said.
Rui thanked Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco for his assistance in providing machinery both during the ploughing operation and now during harvesting. “Mechanisation helps to reduce the cost. Manual cultivation would have cost us dearly”, he added.
He also expressed his gratitude to Fr George Quadros for extending support to the farmers in a big way by transplanting paddy on around one lakh square meters of khazan fields.
He said the Chairman of the Curtorim Bio-diversity Management Committee J Santan Rodrigue also deserves kudos for maintaining a watch on the status of the fields every week. “I thank the Almighty for the bumper yield this time round. I would like to thank the farmers for giving the green signal to go ahead with the cultivation of the massive area”, he said.
Curtorim Bio-diversity Management Committee Santan Rodrigues hailed the experiment by Fr George Quadros to introduce transplanters in khazan fields has turned out a success.
“The success story can be now replicated at other khazan fields across the state and to bring the fallow fields under cultivation”, he said.
He added: "The Novar Khazan Tenants Association have not only got a bumper yield of paddy, but they have preserved and conserved the rich village biodiversity. Curtorim is known as the granary of Salcete and the hard work put in by the Novar Khazan Tenants Association headed by Chairman Rui Menezes will go a long way in protecting the bio-diversity for posterity”.
