This year the rains have caused havoc in the state. It rained in October, when paddy harvesting for the kharif season takes place in the state. This year farmers are unhappy as their crops have been destroyed giving them a poor yield of crop.
However farmers have begun harvesting whatever crop is not destroyed. Farmers are turning towards modern technology for harvesting rather than using labourers for the job.
The harvesting of paddy in the state usually takes place in October-November, although the timing depends on the sowing. Some farmers with large paddy fields use labourers or machine for the paddy harvesting while others with small fields have family members involved in the harvesting.
The post-monsoon heavy rains have caused delay in harvesting and also destroyed the paddy crop in the state. Amidst rains the harvesting of paddy has begun. According to a farmer, the crop damage this time is more due to the continuous heavy rains. He said that, the government should give enough compensation so the losses are recovered. “We are harvesting whatever crop is not damaged,” the farmer said.
Harvesting-threshing-cum-winnowing machines are a big support for paddy cultivation, according to Goan farmers. They disclosed that, they are happy with the outcome of the machines as it has reduced their dependence on the labourers who are not easily available. “The cost of carrying out the various processes related to harvesting is less compared to the cost incurred when labourers are used,” explained a farmer.
With the latest trend towards mechanized farming the numbers of harvesting-threshing-cum-winnowing machines used in the state have increased. A mechanical harvester takes around only one hour for harvesting-threshing-cum-winnowing 4,000 sq mts of paddy field, whereas the same work takes labourers several days to complete.
Moreover the average labour charges vary between Rs 600 and 800 per day and the local labourers are also not available. Farmers have to employ labourers coming from outside the state. It adds to the difficulties and cost and farmers have to arrange the stay of the labourers.
“On an average, the cost of harvesting per acre of paddy field is at least 50 percent lower when machine is used instead of labourers. The farmers are charged around Rs 2,400 per hour for the use of machine, however there is 50 per cent subsidy of the agricultural department and so the farmers have to pay only Rs 1,200 per hour.
It may be noted that there are drawbacks of harvesting-threshing-cum-winnowing machine, a drawback of this machine is that there is no grass generated in the process. Farmers with dairy cattle who require grass do not find the harvesting machines useful as well as farmers with small land holdings especially in the hilly regions. However, the demand of the harvesting-threshing-cum-winnowing machines has increased over the years. A decade back only few machines were used and now there are many more machines of which