Team Herald
MARGAO: The excessive rain that lashed Goa on October 25 has totally destroyed around 30 per cent of the ready to harvest paddy crop that was totally submerged in water and remained there for more than three days.
Officials from the Salcete Zonal Agriculture Office inspected the fields on October 28 to assess the damage caused to the crop and found that nearly 75 per cent of the ready to harvest crop is adversely affected.
While the harvested areas which was just a part of the area cultivated in Salcete were safe, it was the areas where harvesting was not done that was adversely affected as the paddy was ripe for harvesting and rains played spoilsport.
Over 30 per cent of the crop was totally submerged in water and remained submerged for more than three days and this crop is considered totally waste as it cannot be salvaged.
Another 40 to 45 per cent of the crop has bent and was partly submerged and this crop can be saved provided it is harvested immediately and then dried. However, the problem is that this harvesting will have to be done manually as the mechanical harvesters will not be able to enter the fields.
At some places especially in Curtorim, farmers have already started harvesting their crop manually, but whether this will be done all over the taluka to salvage the crop is doubtful and farmers in Salcete are facing a severe loss of their crop.
Zonal Agriculture Officer Anil Noronha is on leave and officials in his office disclosed the information on condition of anonymity.
