CANACONA: Heavy rains in Canacona for the last few days have brought relief to paddy cultivators, but chilli producers are not happy with the sudden downpour after a prolonged dry spell.
According to chilli cultivator Mahesh Velip, the local farmers extensively cultivate the Canacona Khola chilli, which is in great demand when dried due to its distinct pungent flavour. The farmers raise the seedlings in raised beds and then replant them on a sloping terrain. When the seedlings were transplanted this year, the heavy showers washed away most of the crop, causing losses to the farmers.
Vasant Velip from Gulem, who cultivated this cash crop with his family, expected mild rains and not a downpour. Another chilli cultivator Bhiva Gaonkar said they would have to sell the harvested chilli at a higher rate this year to meet the cost-profit ratio.
He was irked that many merchants in Goa were passing off other varieties of chilli as Canacona chillies and that the cheaper chillies were being sold at the Canacona chillies’ higher rate.
According to farmers, around 20-25 percent of chilli cultivation has been destroyed by heavy rains, while some crops have withered away due to scanty rainfall and the sun’s scorching rays. The Canacona chilli is not only used as a spice in various dishes, but also a concoction for relieving tonsillitis.
Canacona Zonal Agricultural Officer Shivram Gaonkar said, “The dry spell has affected the chilli plantations at the beginning and also while transplanting. Kharif (Kamath) chilies are more in demand compared to Rabi (Porrus) chilies due to their taste and aroma. Kharif chilies are cultivated in around six-seven hectares of land a year, while Rabi chilies are cultivated in around 30 hectors. Most farmers who own agricultural land on the hills take to chilli cultivation, besides mixed crops.”
Gaonkar distributed new paddy varieties to around 20 Canacona farmers on trial basis to see the yield during the Kharif season. One variety is Ashwarya (PBT 52), which matures in around 120-125 days due to its resistance to blight diseases. Gaonkar termed it as “something promising”.
He also distributed Kanchana (PBT-50) variety, which matures in about 100-110 days and is suitable for both seasons. He informed that the Naveen, Makom, Jyoti (PTP), Vaishaka, Samyuktha, Prathyasa and Kanchana varieties mature in about 110-120 days, and these seeds were suited for Goan soil.
Gaonkar stated that the farmers were given around 2.5 tonnes of Jyoti and 3.5 tones of Karjal-3 paddy, 12,000 cashew and 2,500 mango grafts with a fifty percent subsidy under a national horticulture scheme.
