Monsoons are the hope of the farming community in Goa, but early onset of rains together with its unpredictability is now a cause of worry for paddy cultivators, writes Bhiva P Parab
The unexpected early arrival of monsoons has taken paddy farmers in the state by surprise as they not prepared for cultivation. Early rains are actually a boost to crop production. In Goa however, most of the farmers have yet to begin the process of cultivation. They are saying that cultivation will start in June, as they are used to doing over the earlier years.
Paddy cultivation involves several stages, from land preparing to harvesting the crop. Farmers need to plough the field followed by leveling and creation of watering holes for irrigation purposes.
In May farmers clear the fields from vegetation and residue of previous crops. Some farmers burn the fields for clearing the grass and also for getting better productivity. This year due to early arrival of monsoons and with heavy rains the fields are flooded with water. In the low-lying fields of Tiswadi and Bardez, where fields are surrounded by residential complexes there is no draw-off for the stagnant water.
It may be noted that normal rains are good for the paddy crop and other crops cultivated during the monsoon season. Moreover it is not the total rainfall which is important in agricultural activities, but the distribution of rainfall is the key to good yield. During monsoons agricultural land becomes soft and ready for cultivation of paddy.
This year surplus rains are predicted for Goa. Farmers are saying that, they are looking for well distributed rains during the growing period. “Heavy rains can destroy the crop and if there is delay or deficient rains, it is also damaging as it will delay the cultivation of the paddy for the winter season. Deficient rainfall means less water availability in the winter months. Good monsoon for paddy cultivation is important in hilly regions where the water does not accumulate,” said farmer Gaja Naik.
He said that normally the traditional the process of paddy cultivation begins with Mriga nakshatra in June. During the nakshatra which goes on for few days there is generally plenty of rains which means enough water in the fields for starting the process of transplanting.
Monsoons set off a pattern of field work in the state for different crops. While June is the month of paddy, cultivation of vegetables and pulses are mostly after July. According to the information available from the sources, if there is delay in the monsoon at the beginning, the short duration paddy seeds could be used, however, if there is dry spell in the middle of the monsoon season then, the short duration variety of paddy seeds also is not useful. As such rains are needed on time for a good crop as the first showers makes the land soft and ready for tilling.
Delayed rains have adverse effect on various stages of the paddy process like harvesting, threshing or winnowing and if the dry days continue and if there is deficient rains then there may be effect on the paddy yield. Some paddy seeds require 130 to 135 days, while there are varieties of paddy seeds which require 105 to 110 days.
The farmers in the various parts of the state are turning towards mechanized farming reflected in the sheer increase in harvesting-threshing-cum-winnowing machines used in the state over the years.
Due to these machines the farmers do not have to depend on the labourers for carrying out harvesting and threshing of the paddy. As compared to the labourers the work of harvesting, threshing and winnowing of paddy requires hardly anytime if done by machines. A machine takes around only one hour for harvesting-threshing-cum-winnowing of 4000 sqmts of paddy field, whereas labourers doing the same work will take several days. Getting labourers for agriculture activities has become difficult and costly these days. It may be noted that to boost the paddy cultivation in the state, there are various government schemes for farmers. The schemes provide financial incentives, protect the crop from wild animals and provide insurance for crop failure. The schemes are doing their job of boosting paddy cultivation in the state. More farmers need to take benefits of the various schemes of the government and go for agriculture.
