Team Herald
ponda: The incessant heavy rains hit areca nut farmers in many parts of Ponda taluka.
According to the farmers, they have suffered 90 per cent losses due to the excessive falling of premature nuts due to the recent weather conditions.
Speaking on behalf of the farmers at Donshi – Bandora, Sonu Shaba Gaude blamed this development on the heavy rains and added that almost all trees in areca nut plantations have been affected in the past eight days. “We have no nuts on trees in our cultivated land. We used to produce 250 kg to earn income and sustain our livelihood by selling them en-masse during the season. We took measures to prevent the premature nuts from falling but it was of no use given the excessive rains,” he said.
He added that they are also facing a shortage of labour due to which they have to work extra hard.
“It is a pain to see a loss of areca nuts, which was almost ready for harvesting. The agricultural officers should inspect the fields and report our losses,” he added.
He added that he hopes the government would pay compensation to the farmers having areca nut plantations.
This demand was supported by former PWD minister and MGP Marcaim MLA Sudin Dhavalikar, who urged the government to provide compensation to all farmers who cultivate various crops and have suffered massive losses due to the incessant heavy rains this year.
