Say youth reluctant to take up work of climbing tall trees
PANAJI
The unavailability of padeli (traditional fruit pluckers) has left owners of age-old mango trees across Goa’s rural landscape in a quandary.
Every summer, large mango trees are leased out for commercial harvesting. Contractors employ skilled pluckers to climb and collect fruit, ensuring maximum yield.
However, many families with mango trees in their home plots prefer to keep the harvest for domestic use. It is these households that are now struggling to find pluckers, raising fears that much of their fruit may be spoilt.
According to one such family in Bardez, the shortage has worsened in recent years with younger generations reluctant to take up the physically demanding work of climbing tall trees.
Many skilled padeli have either shifted to other occupations or are engaged by contractors (rendkars), leaving a gap that is proving difficult to fill in most of rural Goa.
Several other tree owners complain that without professional pluckers, the fruit often falls prematurely. Also, charges of the skilled pluckers have spiked and range anywhere between Rs 6,000-8,000 for a whole day's plucking.
“We can’t risk climbing ourselves. The trees are too tall and dangerous,” said a resident of Merces, echoing the concerns of many mango tree owners like him.
The problem is particularly acute in villages where mango trees are part of family heritage and with the harvest season underway, households fear losing much of their crop to birds, bats, and spoilage.
Agriculture officials acknowledge the issue but say there is no immediate solution. Unless more workers are trained or incentivised to take up the job, the shortage of padeli could become a recurring challenge.
