MLAs said that it was necessary to make agriculture an attractive profession and remove the entrenched negative perception.
Congress MLA Vishwajit Rane pointed out that youth prefer staying idle instead of getting into the fields. “Till date, we still find that youth are not taking up agriculture…something needs to be done….they prefer to remain idle…there is no enthusiasm,” he told the House during discussion on demand for grants on agriculture on Tuesday.
“They only want government and permanent jobs which is not possible.”
Similarly, BJP MLA Subhash Fal Dessai also expressed apprehension that youth were distancing themselves from farming.
“Encourage interest among the youth…agriculture is the need of the hour…” he said. “Give the profession a dignity and explain to youth that agriculture is honourable labour.”
Goa Vikas Party MLA Francisco Mickky Pacheco demanded an inquiry into various scams in the Agriculture Department claiming nothing was going in the right direction right from schemes to subsidies. Rane also requested the government to send agriculture officers for training to outstation centres where cash crops are grown, to boost the production from such crops in the State.
