OLD GOA
Speakers, as well as farmers, highlighted the problems faced by the farming community at the ‘Farmers Mela’ organized by the Directorate of Agriculture under the soil health card scheme at Neura panchayat hall on Tuesday.
Speaking at the function, St Lourenco ZP member Dhaku Madkaikar said that the tenants' associations which are supposed to be looking after the welfare of the farmers are colluding with sluice gates rights holders to inundate the fields.
“Khazans are inundated and for that, we are ourselves responsible as we are not doing our jobs. Earlier, tenants associations would overlook all the issues like bundh repairs but now that is not the case,” Madkaikar opined.
Prof Ramrao Wagh also highlighted how the khazan fields, right from Agassaim to Carambolim, are lying fallow due to inundation with saline water. “There is a need for interaction between the Agriculture Department and the Revenue Department to resolve the issues faced by the farmers.
Wagh also said that in Khazan lands the power tillers are not effective and hence the Agriculture Department has to provide cage wheel tractors for tilling khazan land.
Former Agassaim sarpanch Xavier Gracias came down heavily on the change in the harvesting scheme and the tractor scheme.
“Earlier, harvesters and tractors were charged on an hourly basis. But, from last year, the scheme has been changed and the charges are based on the area due to which the farmers are facing losses,” Gracias stated.
Gracias also took up the issue of the PM’s Sanman Nidhi fund where Rs 6,000 is provided to the farmers. “In Goa, most of the farmers are undertaking cultivation on tenancy fields due to which the farmers cannot avail of the scheme,” Gracias pointed out while urging the authorities to bring in changes in the scheme so that Goa’s farmers could benefit from the same.
Several farmers also put forth their grievances with one woman farmer from Siridao highlighting how her field has got inundated due to the bridgework and she cannot take up cultivation, thereby depriving her livelihood.
Another farmer from Goa Velha said that the tractor operators provided by the government agencies do not know how to till the land properly. “I had to employ a private tractor to till my land,” the farmer complained.
Speaking on the occasion, St Andre MLA Francisco Silveira urged the Agriculture Department authorities to help the farmers in resolving their issues.
Silveira also urged that the subsidy provided by the government to the farmers should be increased.
Further, he said that the construction of the Dongorim to Carambolim bundh should be taken up on an urgent basis so that the farmers could return to farming.
Earlier, Director of Agriculture Neville Afonso spoke on the purpose of the ‘Farmers Mela’ and the various activities undertaken by the Agriculture Department to boost farming in the State, Assistant Director of Agriculture spoke on soil health and Assistant Agricultural Officer Nikhil Majik spoke on various agriculture schemes.
Mayem ZP member Shankar Chodankar, Neura sarpanch Usha Naik, Curca sarpanch Verodiana D’Souza, Siridao sarpanch Jagish Gauns, Tiswadi ZAO Rochelle Fernandes and others were present.
