MARGAO
Anxiety is writ large on the faces of farmers, who have been keeping their fingers crossed as the rains have still not subsided when the harvesting season is just a couple of days away.
In places such as Curtorim, where the farmers have been bracing up for harvesting of the paddy crop by the month-end, the rains have threatened to destroy the crop and the yield.
Chairman of Curtorim Bio-diversity Committee, J Santan Rodrigues pointed out that that the continuous rains over the last couple of days have had an impact on the standing paddy.
“At the Angodi-Tollem, a couple of farmers have come across standing paddy destroyed by the rains. Though a small portion of the standing paddy has been hit by the rains, any further downpour may further affect the crop,” he said.
Santan pointed out that the crop has been titled at some places because of the weight as well as by the heavy showers.
“If the corn falls down, it would be difficult to harvest the paddy since the farmers prefer to go for mechanical harvesting of the crop”, he said.
When The Goan called upon the Zonal Agriculture Officer Sheriff Furtado to shed light on the damage caused to the standing paddy, he said his office has not yet received any major complaints on damaged to crops. He, however, said it is possible that the paddy crop may suffer if the rains continue for the next couple of days.
