The unseasonal rains and the consequential loss to almost the entire agriculture sector in Goa have created a need for a robust mechanism and an all-inclusive system to mitigate the losses to the green industry that keeps the human race alive. The rapid climate change and constantly changing season pattern has called on for a need for a much deeper reach of the Agriculture Department covering all the sectors effectively.
Excessive rainfall causes havoc, damages fields
Goa is witnessing the most unprecedented rainy season in the year 2020. Rainfall figures have breached the limit which was set half a century ago. On the face of it, good rainfall means good news for the agrarian economy. However, 287 hectares of destroyed paddy cultivation in Goa is just the preliminary figure. The picture is grim as far as the entire agriculture sector is concerned. Take for example the Areca nut cultivation; experts informed that 50% of the Areca nut crop is already lost due to the rains. Sachin Tendulkar, Ph.D. in Agriculture and an Areca nut farmer, while speaking to Herald, said, “with the projected climate change and this weather pattern, the smallest farmer in the State will get finished. The fear is that the marginal farmers will turn into laborers for agriculture if the entire pattern of loss is observed.”
Another year of losses for farmers
Fragmentation of land with radical climate changes and low land ownership is a deadly mix that is going to create huge problems for the agriculture sector in Goa.
The Agriculture Department at present says the loss in 2019 was much higher than this year. However, farmers claim that the loss is much bigger than in 2020.
Jose Gracias from Varca who planted paddy like every year has lost his paddy cultivated on at least half an acre. There are many such examples across the State.
Jose said, "I had spent at least Rs 15 to 20 thousand for the cultivation, which I have lost due to rains and inundation of my fields.
Jose sadly doesn't have a Krishi card to claim compensation and is likely to miss it this season.
He added "There are lengthy processes and certain documents that are mandatory, which we couldn't provide for the enrollment for the card," he told.
A little more fact-finding in the Krishi Card enrollment revealed that there are 38 thousand enrolled farmers.
The number of enrolled farmers is much lesser than actual farmers.
J Santano Rodrigues from the Curtorim Union Farmers Club said, "Krishi Card is a good initiative but I am surprised with the Department telling the farmers to come to the office to get enrolled. I hope they understand that the administration has started from down to the top and not top to down" said Santano.
Sachin Tendulkar further pointed out that the Areca nut cultivators have lost 50% of the crop this year and it is a loss for the second consecutive season. Speaking on the difficulty of giving compensation to agriculturists and the solution, Sachin added, "The saddest part is that practitioners are not in the Agriculture Department. There are very few officials in Agriculture Department who are agriculture practitioners. Proper assessment of agriculture or loss in the present condition is effective when we are on the field.
"With the changing climate and weather patterns, the poor farmer in the State will be finished. The marginal farmer who doesn't even have the ownership of the land won't be eligible for any compensation and will turn into laborers with the changing patterns of seasons," said Sachin.
How to fix a recurring problem?
A young farmer from Raia, Valentino Rodrigues, who after having worked hard in the field, during his initial years has now turned service provider. He provides the services of ‘mechanical transplantation’ to the farmers.
Valentino believes that if there is a situation where simple strategies are provided to farmers on time, the farmers can save a lot of paddy from getting damaged.
Valentino added that he has been the late planter and has used the mechanical transplanter for planting.
“This is a double advantage according to him as the crop from a mechanical transplanter isn't too long in length and late planting has this time helped him in saving his crop from the damage from these torrential rains. "It is very little that we farmers can do with the weather conditions. However, with the proper information and educating people, we can save some of the misery arising from loss," he said.
He also touched upon an important sector, which is directly related to paddy cultivation.
He said, "The vents for water exit and the built-up water channels for storm water are higher than the adjoining farmland. Because of the absence of simple science being utilised in development, today fields are getting inundated.
Dy CM, Director of Agriculture speak
On the issue of losses suffered, Director of Agriculture Neville Alphonso said that the farmers who have faced the losses will get compensation. When asked whether the ones who don't have Krishi Card will get compensation or not, he said that they can still come and get enrolled and get compensation.
Speaking on the work the department has done, Agriculture Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar said, “Compared to previous years, the number of farmers and the quantity of seeds that have been taken from the Agriculture Department has doubled and quadrupled. For horticulture, four times more seeds were taken this year by farmers and paddy has doubled".
Covering the cracks
not enough
Looking at the long-term future and keeping the short-gap measures aside, Sachin Tendulkar added, "If our vehicles and we as humans have insurance, why not agriculture. If there is a problem with the papers to land, let the farmer show the receipts that he has got from his buyer. There are ways they can be covered too.
50% of the Areca nut got destroyed due to fungal infection and due to continuous rains and cloudy weather. This fruit synchronizes with monsoon and once the season is lost the entire production year is lost.
Support needed for small-time farmers
In fact, the crops mostly horticulture products like seasonal vegetable growers who are mostly from the weaker section may face a major loss due to this season.
There may also be issues in their abilities to communicate as an organisation wherein all the similar problems faced by all such small-time can be conveyed to the department and solutions sought as a whole as opposed to addressing problems faced only in one region while ignoring the other due to lack of accessibility or plain unawareness about their difficulties.
With a big disadvantage or fragmented fields and mostly no ownership of the land on which they cultivate, these small-time farmers are at the highest order of the vulnerability index among all farmers.
Fatorda is an area that has such farmers, which could serve as a template of problems faced by farmers from other parts of Goa. Most of the farmers grow horticulture products during the season and will double up as labourers in the adjoining fields in the paddy season. For farmers like these, losing one season means a great loss of livelihood.
As climate change is now apparent there needs to be an intrinsic look at how effectively the risk of losing crops and other farm products can be minimized. As Herald explored the problem of the farmer due to seasonal hazards, it was noticed that more than mechanization, there is a need for educating the farmers on the new age challenges of agriculture. The Agriculture Department has to take the present and previous season as a lesson to make sure no farmer loses the battle against nature and is forced to part ways from agriculture.