Goa’s farmers, particularly those engaged in paddy cultivation, are grappling with an escalating climate crisis as erratic weather patterns — marked by unpredictable rainfall, rising temperatures, and saline intrusion — continue to disrupt traditional agricultural cycles. Paddy farmers, who rely heavily on seasonal monsoons, have faced repeated crop failures over the past few years, threatening their food security and livelihoods. The once-reliable rhythms of sowing and harvesting have been thrown into disarray, prompting urgent calls for climate-resilient interventions. With agriculture forming a vital part of Goa’s cultural and economic fabric, scientists, policymakers, and farmers are now rallying to adopt adaptive strategies that can withstand the region’s shifting climate realities. 'The Goan' reports on the crisis at hand
PANAJI
The unseasonal rains over the past fortnight have wreaked havoc across Goa’s paddy-growing regions and have left thousands of farmers grappling with massive crop losses and a bleak outlook for traditional agriculture.
The torrential downpours, which arrived well after the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon, caught cultivators off guard, interrupting harvesting operations and submerging fields filled with ready-to-harvest paddy.
From the verdant fields of Curtorim and Salcete to the fertile plains of Bardez and Tiswadi, the damage has been widespread and severe.
According to preliminary assessments by the Agriculture Department, Bardez taluka has been the worst hit, with nearly 40% of the paddy crop destroyed. In Tiswadi and Salcete, early harvesting helped limit the damage, but the losses remain huge for individual farmers and farmer clubs.
In Curtorim, farmers are struggling to cope with the aftermath. A local service provider and farmer there said the Rs 4 per square metre (Rs 40,000 per acre) compensation announced by the government is far too little compared to the losses they have suffered.
"It (the compensation amount) will not help us recover or recommence farming in the next season," he said, pointing out that the costs for seeds, fertilisers, and labour aggregate to a much higher gross loss.
Field inspections conducted by Agriculture officials in Raia, Nuvem, Benaulim, Varca, Seraulim, and Curtorim revealed extensive waterlogging and crop lodging. Many farmers have reported that their harvest-ready paddy had either been destroyed or rendered unfit for any use.
===
Govt responds, compensation assured
In response to the crisis, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced earlier this week that his government will stand with the farmers in their hour of despair and compensate their losses.
Following up on the Chief Minister's announcement, Agriculture Director Sandeep Fol Dessai said the compensation to the farmers will be under an existing, budgeted State sector scheme called the 'Shetkari Adhar Nidhi' (SAN). "The package will be Rs 40,000 per hectare, capped at Rs 1.6 lakh for up to four hectares per farmer. A complete evaluation of the crop damage will be conducted and farmers will be compensated accordingly,” Fol Dessai said.
While the government's assurance has brought some relief, many farmers argue that the compensation is insufficient and fails to reflect the true extent of their losses. The delay in announcing the relief has also drawn widespread criticism.
===
Oppn slams govt, demand timely disbursement
The Opposition parties have seized on the crisis to lambast the government for its “delayed and inadequate” response.
Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Goa Forward Party (GFP), and Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) have all demanded immediate and transparent disbursement of relief funds. GFP's Fatorda MLA, Vijai Sardesai, has written to Sawant, urging “urgent relief and long-term measures for farmers whose paddy crops have been devastated.”
The Congress accused the government of "apathy towards the farming community" and called for immediate field-level verification and direct cash transfers to the affected farmers. The AAP echoed similar sentiments, and its leaders visited farmers and inspected their fields in Saligao, Moira, and different parts of Salcete. The party said the quantum of compensation being paid by the government is insufficient and should match the actual losses faced by farmers. RGP leaders demanded that the government “stop making announcements and start delivering results.”
===
Financial loss plus heartbreak
Apart from staring at financial losses, Goa's farming community is also going through emotional trauma, with the unexpected weather events literally stealing the fruit of their labour from right before their eyes.
In Salcete, farmer Anil D’Costa shared his ordeal: “We had just begun harvesting when the rains arrived and within a day our fields were flooded."
A group of farmers from Benaulim even protested impromptu, arguing that the unexpected rains and flooding of fields at harvest time is a story that keeps repeating, each time causing crop losses and delayed compensation from the government.
===
Climate change and paddy farming
The recent rains are not a one-off incident. Goa’s farming community has been hit by extreme climate events year after year, ranging from erratic monsoons to prolonged dry spells and, like this year, sudden downpours leading to their fields flooding.
These unpredictable patterns have made traditional paddy farming increasingly untenable, with experts warning that without climate-resilient agricultural policies, Goa’s rich tradition of rice cultivation could face extinction.
According to Dr Meera Naik, an agronomist, investing in flood-resistant paddy varieties, better drainage systems, and crop insurance schemes is the need of the hour. She has warned that farmers will begin to abandon their fields otherwise.
Many young farmers are already considering alternatives. In Aldona, Rohan Naik, whose father and grandfather traditionally grew rice, is seriously thinking of moving on to horticultural crops and, worse, quitting farming altogether. "It’s just not paying or sustainable,” he said.
Stories of anguish and despair from paddy farmers also echo across Bicholim, Sattari, Canacona, and Sanguem. Their words paint a grim picture of widespread agricultural distress and growing frustration with slow or inadequate government response.
In Bicholim, farmer Hanuman Parab from Pissurlem lamented the compounded impact of mining and rains. “Our fields were already suffering due to siltation on account of mining and ore transportation. Now the rains have finished us. We’ve lost our crop, and there’s not enough help in sight,” Parab said.
In Sattari, during a community meeting organised by the farming community, one cultivator said, “We are being made to suffer year after year. The government talks about compensation, but we need action.”
In Sanguem, Maria Fernandes, who had cultivated paddy on 2 hectares, said her family had invested in everything — labour, seeds, fertilisers. "Now the fields are flooded, and the crop is rotting. We don’t know how we’ll bear the losses," Fernandes said.
These testimonies add to the growing chorus of farmers from Curtorim, Salcete, Bardez, and Tiswadi, where losses have ranged from 25% to 40% of the total paddy crop.
===
Road ahead: policy, support & hope
The crisis has reignited calls for a comprehensive agricultural policy that addresses both immediate relief and long-term sustainability.
Farmer collectives are demanding timely disbursement of compensation, field-level damage verification, subsidies for seeds and fertilisers, and investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, besides crop insurance and better preparedness to face crises like the current one.
As Goa grapples with the aftermath of yet another climate-induced agricultural crisis, the resilience of its farming community is being tested like never before: the paddy fields may be submerged, but the voices of those who till them are rising, demanding justice, support, and a future worth cultivating.
