The harvester purchased by Marc farmers club in operation in the fields of Curtorim.
MARGAO
Harvesting operations commenced in Curtorim village, considered the granary of Salcete, as new harvester of Kubota make, was seen in the fields marking the harvesting season.
Ex-Curtorim zilla panchayat member Moreno Rebello informed that the Marc farmers club formed by him has purchased the harvester financed by him. “The harvester is of Kubota make, the first in Goa and is an excellent machine from the Japanese giant in agriculture machinery”, he added.
Speaking at the commencement of the harvesting season, Moreno said the idea of purchasing the harvester came when farmers had to wait for the harvesting machine to harvest the paddy. “We formed the farmers’ club and purchased the machine for the benefit of the farming community”, he said.
Moreno thanked the Agriculture department, including Agriculture Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar, Cuncolim MLA Clafacio Dias for helping him to comply with the formalities and to get the approvals.
It may be noted that, tilling and sowing operations of paddy fields in Goa had been thrown in disarray due to disruption first by the cyclone and later by the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
First in 2019, floods had submerged and damaged crop weeks before harvest time. Last year, the lockdown and the first wave of the Covid-19 infections had adversely affected kharif sowing operations.
It was the cyclone Tauktae and then the second wave of Covid-19 infections derailed the paddy farming operations.
Fortunately, the operations normalized after the weather stopped playing truant.
