Team Herald
MARGAO: Around 19 hectares of fields that were lying fallow were ploughed during the monsoon season by the Agriculture Department in keeping with Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardessai’s aim to plough all the land whether it is cultivated or not.
“Instead of keeping the land fallow for weeds to thrive, we shall plough the fields so that at least weeds do not get a free run and we have well aerated and nitrogen rich soil,” he had said on May 31 while inaugurating the mechanized transplanting by the department.
Vijai had in fact said that all the fallow fields in his constituency would be ploughed. However, that could not be done as some farmers did not allow the agriculture department officials to even enter their fields leave alone plough them.
Around 5 hectares of fallow fields have been ploughed in Fatorda constituency while around 2 hectares were ploughed in Majorda.
Incidentally, in Seraulim where 4 hectares of fallow land was ploughed and brought under cultivation last year, more fallow fields have been ploughed this year. “We are doing this work with the hope that on seeing their fields ploughed the owners will be motivated to cultivate them,” said Anthony Rego who heads the mechanical cultivation section at Margao.
It would be pertinent to note that this year around 120 hectares of fields in Salcete have been cultivated by using mechanical transplanting machine.
and farmers have expressed great happiness with the new technology.
