TEAM HERALD
PONDA: At a time when youth are reluctant to pursue agriculture activities for a livelihood, students of a school in Panjim were given practical training in paddy cultivation at Banastarim, with the hope that they may be motivated to consider it as a sustainable occupation.
It was an unusual lesson in the basics of paddy cultivation, as 38 students from the Mustifund High School at Panjim were taught the methods of cultivating paddy.
Accompanied by their teacher Sarvendra Fadte Gaonkar, students of Std 9 spent over two hours learning the basics in agricultural work and even sowed paddy in a sizeable portion of a field near the Banastarim Bridge. The students toiled in the field with the slogan: “Shet Ami Rakhta Borin, Mushtifundachim Ami Xhetkari,” (We protect the fields, we are farmers from the Mustifund school).
For passersby, it was an unexpected sight to find students in their school uniforms busy at work in a paddy field. This activity, which is part of the school’s curriculum, has been undertaken by the school for the very first time with an aim to spread awareness and inculcate love for agricultural work.
Many students described the practical classes as a “remarkable experience.”
“Now, we know how hard and difficult it is to undertake farming activity. In fact, schools should have
such activity for students,” said a student.
The teacher, Sarvendra Fadte Gaonkar, explained the purpose of undertaking the exercise. “This activity is part of the school curriculum, where students were given first-hand experience in farming activity. The idea is to create awareness and love for agricultural work,” said Gaonkar.
“The trip was part of the school’s social service subject for students of Std 9 and we plan to revisit the area during harvesting work,” he added.
The students were guided by a farmer, Vithal Murgaonkar, who demonstrated the farming techniques and supervised the work while students were engaged in sowing paddy in the field.
Murgaonkar was clearly impressed with the enthusiasm of the young learners.
“They were good learners and sowed a sizeable area in two hours. This is for the first time that children, especially students, have come here to learn about paddy cultivation,” Murgaonkar told Herald.
