MAPUSA
Concerned farmers have said the push for farming in the State will be of no use if the government fails to protect the land which is fast depleting.
“What is important here is the land. If there is no land, there is no use of subsidies or sharing of all this information. We need to save our land for planting and not for building activity,” said Sandra Fernandes, a farmer from Sangolda.
She said filling of fields has been happening at a rapid pace everywhere and none of the government authorities were ready to take action against such illegality.
“We want to ask the government to try and stop the filling of agriculture land. We want to ask the government to show us an authority, a person or an institution which can come when we tell them that a field is being filled, so that they can come and stop it. It is not happening under the present laws,” Fernandes rued.
Seconding her was Daniel Alvares, a farmer of Porvorim, who said he had come to the “Farmers Mela” with the intention to ask some questions relating to agriculture but unfortunately none of the ministers were present.
Fernandes said not everything was bad and there was tremendous scope to build the agriculture sector in the State if the intention was right and the government stood by the farmers.
“We are very happy with the way the zonal officers are functioning. We are very happy with all the equipment and the subsidies. But if there is no land to do farming what is the use of all these facilities?” she argued.
