MARGAO: Farmers are facing various difficulties despite the Agriculture Department providing tractors for ploughing fields in Salcete. Some of these are man-made while others are natural.
The Agriculture Department at Margao has eight tractors which are leased out to farmers who want to cultivate their fields. However, two of these tractors are not working properly and their parts have been ordered but not received as yet. “This is a government department where we cannot buy parts in bulk and we have to get the director’s sanction for every purchase and that is why there is a delay in procuring parts,” disclosed one staff member while speaking on condition of anonymity.
In the month of April and May the tractors were not used as all the drivers were posted on Covid duty as the pandemic was spreading and the department started using the tractors from June itself. But the pre monsoon showers and Cyclone Tauktae has rendered the soil very mushy and difficult to plough and a slightly longer dry spell is required.
Besides, there is no co-ordination between the farmers booking the tractors and one machine has to travel quite a distance from one place to another. Most of the ploughing work is over within an hour but in reality more time is wasted in moving the tractor from one place to another.
“It would have been better if the panchayat or some other body co-ordinates with the farmers so then our machine can go to that village and plough the fields that are nearby together. This would save time and also improve the efficacy of the machine,” said the staff member.
Another problem faced by the department is access to the fields which need to be ploughed as most of them do not have proper access and the tractor driver has to carve out a path to take the machine.
