Every year in summer, the Konkan Fruits Festival is held in Goa, and is presented by the Botanical Society of Goa. This annual festival provides a chance to discover, taste and enjoy some of the most loved fruits from the Konkan region.
In my opinion, knowing very well that our land is suitable for growing a range of fruit bearing trees, just the way the Portuguese introduced about 300 plants to Goa, we (Goans) must take the initiative to introduce new fruits & vegetables in our fertile farms (including our backyards) to improve our natural resources of food production.
All that we are familiar with, are fruits such as bananas, mangoes, chikoos, papayas, melons and jackfruits in our land. But there are ‘several’ tropical fruits, vegetables and varieties of them that can be grown in Goa.
The internet is a good source of information and I found out that there are many tropical fruits from Africa, South America and Asia that can be introduced in Goa. Therefore, the Directorate of Agriculture (Govt. of Goa) must play an ‘active’ role in doing this research and seeds/grafts procurement. Honestly, although the government is moving in the right direction by introducing schemes and high yielding varieties of seeds in Goa, there is a lacuna of horticultural knowledge and public awareness, which needs to be filled in & taken care of, to enhance the natural foods production in Goa. I hope the concerned authorities are listening.
Augustus Alphonso, Vasco
