It is a season when water-drenched climes give way to crispbreezes and dew. It is a season of an explosion of colours, lent not only bythe festive season but by nature itself with vegetables, fruits of and flowersof vibrant hues populating the fields.
The recently harvested fields are cleared to make way forwinter crops “ the second paddy crop grown in the winter is called the rabicrop or vaingan which is grown by those who have access to water. In placeswhere there is little or no access to water, varve “ the crop that consists ofchillies interspersed with tomatoes and brinjals “ is grown.
Winter farming need not be practiced by only those whoseoccupation is agriculture. For those living in the city, the plants can begrown in pots. For those with even a small piece of land, Miguel Braganza,President of the Botanical Society of Goa advises, “It is not difficult togrow. You don’t need good soil. Any soil will do. You just need to improve thesoil with a little bit of compost or EM to give your plants a head start.”
Farmers begin planting when the land is sufficiently dryafter the rains and the ground is not saturated with water. Excess water couldlead to various kinds of pests and diseases. In Goa, different areas dry up atdifferent times in winter. For example, parts of Taleigao dry up by mid-Octoberif the rains are on schedule. Chorao Island on the other hand needs to waittill December to begin planting, especially for the low-lying, khazan lands. Inthe uplands (like in parts of Tivim, Mapusa and Parra) do not hold water forlong, so people actually begin planting as soon as the rains stop.
There is a general decline in farming and therefore, winterfarming also suffers. “It is a question of opportunity costs. If you haveproperty by the beach you will earn more money by putting a shack than bygrowing some crop,” says Braganza.
The Goa Horticulture Corporation has started more than 300kiosks over that sell vegetables. However, these pesticide-laden vegetablescome from Belgaum. “To get Goan farmers to grow vegetables and sell in thesekiosks would be good but we need to integrate people who are growing in smallquantities. We also have to promote the consumption of local vegetables,because if there is no consumption, growing it does not make sense,” saysBraganza.
