Goa should empower women’s groups and farmers to build a thriving marigold industry
Many decades ago, marigold flowers were an identity of rural Goa. The flowers could be found in the garden of every second house and were used for all occasions – religious and social. Today, it is the exotic flowers that dominate many gardens. However, the value of marigolds has not decreased. On the contrary, their demand has increased, with Goa being a wedding destination and the flower being in demand for high-budget local weddings and political conventions too. Commercial cultivation of marigold could have been pushed long ago, but for various reasons, Goa lagged behind.
This is, however, changing. A senior agriculture officer said that for the first time in Goa’s history, the department has nursed 3 lakh marigold flower seedlings. These were prepared at the Centre of Excellence (CoE), Codar, Dharbandora, after the Directorate of Agriculture partnered with Israel under the Indo-Israel Agriculture Project (IIAP) a year ago.
What is interesting is that all the seedlings have already been booked by farmers, indicating interest in commercial flower farming. This is provided farmers get government support, including for irrigation facilities and building polyhouses and shade nets. Goa’s annual demand for marigold flowers is estimated at around 2,500 tonnes. While local production has improved in recent years with government support and subsidies, the state continues to depend on outside supplies to meet peak-season requirements. By slashing the input cost of high-quality seedlings from Rs 5 to a highly subsidised Rs 1, the government is encouraging more people to grow marigolds and is effectively removing the financial risk for local farmers. A significant advantage for local floriculture is product quality. According to the department, the locally grown marigolds boast a superior shelf life.
While the vision of a self-reliant (Swayampurna) Goa is an excellent administrative target, the state is currently far from achieving it. Local farmers currently produce roughly 180 tonnes of marigolds across 30 hectares, leaving a massive vacuum that is continuously filled by imports from neighbouring agricultural hubs in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Open cultivation in Goa is highly vulnerable to erratic monsoons; protected cultivation ensures a consistent, year-round yield. The state should leverage schemes like ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) to create village-level floriculture clusters, focusing specifically on empowering women’s self-help groups to take up commercial farming with shared logistical costs. The training provided to farmers on marigold by ATMA resulted in cultivation of the flower across 30 hectares.
Floriculture is largely untapped in the state. While the government has several schemes to promote commercial cultivation of flowers, it needs to do more to promote marigold cultivation. As open cultivation in Goa is highly vulnerable to erratic monsoons, the government needs to provide expanded subsidies to help farmers build their own polyhouses and shade nets. This is essential to ensure consistent, year-round yields. For farmers to confidently grow flowers on a commercial scale, the government must also provide robust support for irrigation facilities. Specific focus should be placed on empowering women’s self-help groups to take up commercial marigold farming.
The government must continue providing high-quality seedlings at heavily subsidised rates. The recent move to slash the cost of seedlings nursed at the Codar Centre of Excellence has successfully removed the financial risk for farmers and should be maintained. The government must also involve local panchayat leaders and revive the cultivation of marigold and other flowers. The state must move beyond seasonal enthusiasm and try to establish floriculture as a permanent, high-yield industry.
