Goan agriculture is probably going through its worst period this year. In just three talukas of Bardez Bicholim and Pernem – all in North Goa – around 1,200 hectares of agricultural land that had been cultivated have been rendered unusable due to the incessant rains and flooding. The loss has been estimated at Rs 5.5 crore in these three talukas alone, though the final figure is yet to be ascertained. A survey by the authorities revealed the almost every crop has been destroyed. Paddy, which is grown during the monsoon, has been most affected. Entire farms have been destroyed taking with it the paddy, the vegetables that had been sown, and the fruits that had been grown. Goa’s precarious agricultural sector that had been attempting a revival has suffered its worst loss.
For the dejected farmers, the enhanced compensation that the government has planned to give will partially cover their losses, especially as they stare at acres of agricultural land that has been turned into a sea of water, instead of swaying paddy fields. The compensation may offset the financial burden that they will face as there is no produce for them to sell. But, then the farmer may return to his field again, what about the many who attempted to cultivate their fields this year and last year after a long period of ignoring the land.
The State government has been attempting to turn the focus on agriculture in the State, as the activity has been on the decline over the past decades. According to statistics published in the Economic Survey that is released annually, land under paddy, pulses, groundnut, sugarcane cultivation in Goa has been dropping.
There was a promise made soon after the last election that the Goan farmers’ income, in keeping with the policy of the Union government, would be doubled in five years. Two years later, this does not look like it will happen. The floods are the latest of many blocks that surface in the agricultural revival plans of the State.
There are many who ploughed their land that had remained fallow for years, will they even consider going back to the field when the agriculture season commences next year, after the floods that sent them into losses?
Goa’s farmers have faced a number of upsets, the heavy rains being just one of them, the man-animal conflict has been another. Last year, especially in Sattari, as the harvest season approached, the farmers had quite a few anxious moments as the ripening crop was targetted by raiding wild animals. They had renewed their demand that the bison and the monkey be declared as ‘vermin animals’ so that they could be killed. The farmers’ grouse was that these animals enter their fields and destroy the produce causing losses. This conflict has its origins in the fact that in a bid for reforestation the government in the past had planted trees that are not fruit bearing and hence did not provide food for the animals.
Goa’s agriculture revival plans may face a setback after the floods this year. Getting land owners back into the field was the first and most difficult of tasks for the Agriculture Department. The response of the people had been tentative, despite the promises by the government of subsidies and of doubling farmer income. The little success that the government had may be washed away with the floods. Putting aside the losses of this season, the department will have to focus on converting agriculture and farming into a profit-oriented activity. A major reason for youth staying away from the agricultural fields is that the time, effort and finance that they invest into farming does not always compensate by way of sale. Agriculture has to be made profitable, if it is to be made attractive.
