Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) has recently written to the State government to urgently look into food security, protection of natural resources and building of local skill, supply hubs for resilience in a crisis.
“We need a more proper mapping of land use and sustainable development that is what GBA is working on. The goal here is food security, identifying, encouraging, upgrading local skills and entrepreneurship and planning that guides and supports grassroots development with a focus on preservation of natural resources and food security. Now that we are undergoing this crisis and monsoons are near so we need to map the field and land which can be used for agriculture for our sustainable food security. The agriculture dept should also now take a lead,” said Sabina Martins.
Martins said the suggestions could be taken-up by the State Economic Impact Committee. The letter details out a vision-based action that promotes contained areas into a power centers capable of handling a lock-down at any point, and importantly, reduce unnecessary travel which has turned out to be a burden on infrastructure. “Goa’s strength has always been her network of villages, each having a mix of interdependent systems of forests, fields, rivers, beaches, water catchments and settlements. This is thanks in part to the existing code of communidades, historically a robust model of community farming and revenue collection, something we must build on,” the letter adds
It says it needs complete cooperation of various depts and civil society with free flow of data through revamped online portals. “Especially critical is the TCP, which must shift focus from encouraging concrete construction and conversion of eco-sensitive lands to a supporting role in collaboration with agriculture, water resources and panchayats. The common goal is of independence and survival of settlement clusters in times of crisis through agrarian revival and micro economic incentives,” it adds.
The letter warns that, “The Covid pandemic is not over nor is it clear who will be worst affected as it plays itself out. It is a real possibility that neighboring States may close borders and hoard supplies for themselves, in case of a shortfall depending on which parts of the supply and distribution chains get compromised. With this understanding, establishment of top heavy industries with long range supply chains should not be priority right now.”
Martins added, “Fishing and other legacy occupations drive different villages in the State. We should now also focus on agriculture. There is an opportunity for the agricultural department to reform itself through this revival exercise, with critical intervention to be completed in May to take advantage of the coming monsoon.”
