Kharif crops damaged by rains, lament Taleigao farmers

The standing Kharif crop has fallen to the ground, making it difficult to harvest

Young farmer Nitin D'Souza ( Extreme Left) and Luciano Fernandes (Extreme Right) ]Herald pic

Published on:

08 Oct 2024, 4:00 pm

PANJIM: The sudden heavy rains have brought tremendous losses and hardships to farmers. Taleigao farmers on Tuesday lamented the loss they faced due to the sudden heavy rains which came down on Monday and Tuesday. The farmers stated that they didn’t get much yield as most of the crops were either destroyed or damaged. Farmers who harvested paddy and those whose crops are yet to be harvested both faced problems due to rains.

The paddy crops are severely affected due to rains that lashed the state at the beginning of this week. Taleigao farmers lamented that their hard work has gone in vain, as this year the yield has fallen considerably.

Nitin D’Souza, who began farming from the age of 15 years and is in his youth said, “When it rains like this the crop bends. So those whose farmers were supposed to harvest the crop find that it has fallen to the ground. Some people who have harvested earlier, find it difficult to dry the grains.”

Luciano Farmer, who is a senior citizen said, “Since we could not afford, four or five of us got together and requested the government to give us a harvester. So they gave us the harvester. But all the farmers are not supportive. And before the rains came we harvested the fields of at least 21 farmers. The unexpected rains have caused lot of damage to our paddy. What the government give us as compensation for crop loss is not sufficient. But we cannot blame the government.”

Luciano stated that the farmers of Taleigao grow two types of seeds –Jaya and Jyoti. Jyoti is the brown rice and Jaya is the white rice. If he government minimum price is Rs 20 per kg, the buyers purchase from us at Rs 17 per kg, which is not economical. But they sell the rice at a very high rate. This is just not fair, he argues. If they buy at Rs 75, they can sell it at Rs 100, we have no issues.

There are issues with the farmers. Some grow Jaya and some grow Jyoti. So the harvesting time differs. But none can be blamed, farmers agree. Actually there is need for community farming. But each one has their own freedom. “About five to six of us have got together and we grow the same variety so that it can be harvested at one time. But his time we have suffered badly. Government may give us compensation, but that is just not enough,” Luciano says with regret.

Much as the government trumpets about encouraging agriculture, Luciano discloses that farmers cannot even recover their investment. “Government pays us Rs 1700 per 100 kgs and we have to pay Rs 3000 only to transport it there. So there is no benefit. And to dehusk the rice is a big problem. I’m helping young Nathan because he is enthusiastic and we cooperate. I do take advise from him too and he helps me a lot in marketing,” Luciano says with a smile.