The annual event of community farming at Rachol was held on Tuesday at 3 pm. Fr Ancy D’Cunha, the Procurator of Rachol Seminary organised the annual event for the 8thconsecutive year.  Around 85 seminarians and around 80 villagers came together to spend a day at the farm.  People from the villages of Rachol, Shiroda, Borda, Raia and Nuvem of different ages come to spend their afternoon planting paddy saplings in the field. Along with traditional farmers, college students, nurses, seamen and people from other professions also joined in. Fr Ancy informed Herald that they promote the event by meeting people from the villages and announcing it in the church on Sunday. “Most people come every year. We don’t pay them anything. They come willingly and they are very happy to come. It is a nice community activity.”, he said

He was very happy that in the last two years many other churches are organising similar events and many other groups of young people are also getting to farming.

“The youth have their mind set on doing some courses and then going on the ship or abroad. But in Goa, they can do cultivation of crops and vegetables and earn a decent living”. He spoke of a youth who informed him that he earns around 3 lakh per year.

Fr Ancy had a message for parents of Goa. “Parents have stopped cultivating their fields and when parents stop, the children will not take up farming. Now many children are not interested in farming anymore and they think it's below their dignity and feel ashamed to do this. Parents feel that if they get rice in the shop, then there is no need to work hard to cultivate rice.  Parents should change their mindset first and they should start farming. Then the children will also take it up.”

Herald asked Fr Ancy what he expects from the government in the field of agriculture. He expressed his disappointment over the non-availability of subsidies at the department.  “Last year when I had gone to collect subsidies like seeds, they informed me that they don't have any seeds under the subsidy scheme.” This year, Fr Ancy didn’t go to collect any subsidy. He used his own money to buy the seeds and other things needed for cultivating the farm.

Herald asked his opinion of the trend of elected representatives going into the farm. “What matters is how they are doing it. Last few days they have gone to the people and started working. But I don’t know”, he responded with a sceptical voice. He agreed that the elected representatives should work as hard to promote agriculture inside the assembly as much as outside in the farm.