It is a fact, indisputable too, that agriculture in Goa has been neglected and does not receive the attention it deserves. The fallow fields along the highways and the gated complexes occupying space on the paddy fields are evidence that do not need any other proof to back this up. And, on Wednesday the Goa region General Manager of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) underlined Goa’s indifference to agriculture when he politely said that there is a lack of interest among the people in Goa as properties are by the beach side and labour is not cheap. It is the demand for beachside properties that is keeping people away from agriculture, he reasoned.
While that may be true along the coast, not all of Goa is coastal and the area available for agricultural purposes is much more in the interiors of Goa than in coastal Goa where the soil is sandy and not the best for a paddy crop. It is not just the demand for beachside properties that has made people turn away from agriculture. Jobs in industry and the services sector did lead to people turning their back on agriculture. But more importantly, from the time Goans found that their land could be used for purposes other than growing paddy and vegetables, purposes that would yield far higher revenues than agriculture ever could or would, farming operations in the state have clearly taken a back seat.
Goa’s economy was primarily based on agriculture even as recently as five decades ago when the territory was liberated in December 1961. There were no industries at that time and mining was in its nascent stage. While mining and tourism played a role in edging out agriculture from the State, land reforms that ended up in parceling out of land among owners and tillers and tenants reduced the size of the landholdings to such a size that it was not economically feasible to sow the small field. Then came the real estate boom and this further alienated the people to agriculture. The value of the land rose so high that agriculture was just not a viable option. Why would somebody break ones back working in the field when the land can be sold for amounts that agriculture could never provide, seemed to be the rationale behind the sale of agricultural properties to real estate developers.
The slide away from agriculture has been very consistent, government documents do prove this. The most recent Economic Survey 2014-15 says, “The government is making all out efforts to revitalize agriculture and allied activities in the State. Various schemes have been implemented to encourage and attract rural youth to take up agriculture and allied activities in their villages.”
The Economic Survey of two years earlier, 2012-13, says, “The state had an agrarian economy and nearly 75% of the population was involved in agriculture. But the liberation of Goa ushered in tremendous change in the economy of the State. Though this has been mainly due to influence of service sector, the state needs to achieve a balance between agriculture and service sector for sustainability.”
Three years earlier, the Economic Survey 2009-10 had said, “Production and productivity in most crops have remained static. Except for groundnut, there has been a shortfall in targeted area coverage and production… The scope for expansion of food grain crops is very limited.”
The silver lining for this sector is that NABARD says that all this can change as there is an improvement in agriculture in coastal areas and believes that there is scope for agriculture in Goa. It has projected Rs 5037 crore as financial assistance for the year 2015-16 in Goa. That is a figure that should push many Goans to take that step into agriculture.
There are resources, other than finance, for farmers in Goa as NABARD has been active in promoting farmers’ clubs of which there are 97 in the State. The bank has also constituted a regional advisory group that deliberates on faming issues and offers suggestions for improving farming. The assistance is available what would now be needed is the willingness of the Goans to soil their hands by putting them in the red soil of their land.
