TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Curtorim stands head and shoulders above the rest of the villages when it comes to the number of claimants who have availed of subsidy for harvesting paddy over the last the two years.
In 2011-12, there were 1633 claimants for the subsidy to mechanically harvest their fields availing a total subsidy of Rs 18.60 lakh. In 2012-13, the figure stood at 1,622 from the same village, which availed a subsidy of Rs 16.88 lakh.
Siolim village in Bardez taluka was a distant second with 628 farmers claiming subsidy for harvesting in 2011-12. However, the following year 2012-13, Siolim lost its place to Cortalim which saw 696 claimants for the subsidy, yet far behind Curtorim. When Herald asked Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco the secret behind the high number of claimants for the subsidy, he said it was due to the fact that fields in Curtorim are cultivated twice a year and that there is a large area of fields that are not left fallow.
“Other areas cultivate only one crop a year. Here in Curtorim, we cultivate two crops a year,” he told Herald also adding that the location of the fields played a part.
It is however also known that farmers in Curtorim are especially active in using mechanized harvesters, five of which are said to be available in and around Curtorim areas.
In the financial year 2011-12, the government spent a total of Rs 1.23 crore on subsidizing paddy harvesting benefiting a total of 12,893 farmers across the state. The following year, in 2012-13, the government spent Rs 1.895 crore on subsidy for harvesting, benefiting 18,505 farmers.
