“Chilli”ng their way to the bank

A hot commodity in the Goan spice market, Canacona's Khola chillies are famous for their taste as well as colour. The famous restaurants and papad makers are lining up to buy the Khola chilli. 

It is cultivated as a commercial crop by farmers in the Canacona Taluka and commands a premium rate of over Rs.500 per kilo in the Goan market.

The khola chillies are locally grown in the Kamat i.e. in Kharif season and are rain fed in hilly terrain and in the Rabi season they are sown in paddy fields wherever water is available. Chilly cultivation in Kumeri i.e.` Kamat` in Kharif season involves shifting the place of cultivation every year. Plots in the forests on slopes are   cleared every few years as the old uncultivated plots are kept fallow. All the chilli production from Khola to Cotigao in Canacona is the same local variety. The name differs as sometimes it’s called Khola chillies or Canacona chillies.

The seedlings are raised in the month of May with due care. The land is prepared in the month of May itself and at the onset of monsoon after 3 to 4 days of regular showers farmers start transplanting the chilli saplings. Farmers normally planted about 5 to 8 seedlings in a place known as hill point as they feared that some plants may die. After repeated awareness from the Zonal Agricultural Office at Canacona now they have started planting about 2 to 3 saplings at one hill point which increases the overall productivity per plant said Canacona ZAO Shivram Naikgaonkar . Naikgaonkar says, "There is always a high risk of root grub attack so farmers are always advised by the department to drench Chloropyriphos in limited and prescribed quantities before the crop is covered with leaf mulching". 

In Rabi crop of chilli there are also incidents of pest attacks. 

Farmers earn more from Kamat chillies and dried Canacona Kamat chillies are sold at a premium upward of Rs 500 per kg. Rabi Canacona chillies get a price of up to Rs. 300 per kg. Both crops only take the dry red chillies. 

As far as green chillies are concerned agriculture department has introduced many hybrid varieties to cultivate along with Kamat and Porus in Rabi season. About 40 hectares of land was brought under hybrid chilli cultivation since 2013. Varieties such as Nisha have earned good profit for the farmers. 

Goa Horticulture Corporation is procuring all the produce for distribution to the horticulture vends all over Goa and excess produce is sent out of state. Over the years, it has been found that Nisha is susceptible to Aphid attack and new varieties like Saipriya and G-4 were introduced. Sungeta 1009 showed very good yield in Khariff.

With Canacona's terrain and climate most suitable for a bumper crop of chillies, the farmers from the taluka are singing their way to the bank.