Politicians flock to our paddy fields, eager for limelight in promoting rice cultivation ” yet the Minister and the Department of Agriculture remain conspicuously absent. Only the Minister of Water Resources has consistently championed paddy farming, irrigation facility, endorsing seeds, fertilizer and harvester subsidies, higher minimum support prices and crop insurance. Despite rice being Goa’s staple, these measures have failed to inspire farmers, who face prohibitive labour costs, dwindling manpower and rampant cattle damage. Meanwhile, some elected officials have heedlessly converted fertile fields into housing estates. Thanks to Fr George Quadros and the Cooperative Farmers’ Organisation, however, a genuine green revolution is underway: mechanisation has proven both cost‘effective and practical, and input costs are being addressed. Yet Fr Quadros’s monumental contributions go unacknowledged. If our politicians truly love Goa’s heritage, they should till or sponsor their own fields ” rather than staging photo‘ops ” to demonstrate real commitment to paddy cultivation.
