Service providers see surge in bookings
PANAJI
The ongoing spell of rain due to a cyclone and the early onset of monsoons has somewhat caught Goa’s traditional paddy growers off-guard and will hasten their preparations for kharif sowing.
Over the last week, farmers have made a beeline seeking bookings from service providers for mechanised ploughing and transplanting operations in their respective land holdings.
Director of Agriculture Sandeep Fol Desai, however, said that although the monsoon has started early this year, it is unlikely to have much impact on the overall kharif sowing operations.
Some fields may be waterlogged, making ploughing difficult, but these waters will recede and farmers will not face any difficulty in ploughing their fields and then sowing paddy, he said.
Some 23,000-odd hectares come under paddy cultivation during the kharif (monsoon) season across Goa, with net production crossing the one-lakh tonne mark.
Last year, however, was an exception when net production fell to 77,769 tonnes, significantly lower than the 1.1 lakh tonnes produced in the 2023-24 kharif season. The drop in yields was attributed to the extreme rains Goa witnessed in July last year when standing crops were damaged due to flooding.
