CANACONA: Despite the government’s budgetary provision to provide minimum support price (MSP) to cashew growers in the last cashew season, there is resentment among the farmers of Canacona taluka as the money has not yet been deposited in the accounts of the farmers.
Narayan Velip, a cashew orchardist from Nuvem- Sristhal, Canacona has expressed dissatisfaction over the delay.
Last year, the price of cashew seeds was around Rs 121 per kg. The rate later dropped to Rs 100. Therefore, cashew growers and farmers demanded the government to get the support price as the prices were very low. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that the price of cashew nuts will be Rs 150 per kg.
To get the support price, the cashew growers and farmers here submitted their applications to the Canacona Divisional Agriculture Office along with the bills of cashew seeds sold. The applications submitted by the farmers have been sent to the Panjim office, sources in the Canacona agriculture office informed.
There are a large number of cashew plantations in the taluka.
Shantaram Desai, a cashew grower from Cotigao said that cashew is one of the cash crops for farmers here. Cashew cultivation is done in Cola, Agonda, Gaondongrem, Poinguinim, Sristhal, Cotigao and Loliem panchayat areas of this taluka. In December and January, cashew plantation trees and shrubs are cut and cleaned.
Sangtu Velip of Gaondongrem said, “The cashew plantation is cleaned every year, and we need workers to do that. At present, the wages of the workers have gone up to Rs 700-800 per day. As a result, farmers suffer if the prices of cashew seeds remain low.”
Due to the high rates of workers here, cashew growers bring workers from Kumbharwada, Joyda areas of Karwar district to clean the cashew plantation. Punaji Gaonkar, a senior resident of Asali, said many workers from the area are currently living in Canacona.
