After the blue lock, Goans on a mission to grow more greens | India News
Rumita Patel
Goa felt the closure on his palate. Vegetable supplies from Belagavi in Karnataka, and Kolhapur, Nashik and Solapur in Maharashtra were depleted. Withered beans demanded chubby prices. Ashok Dande, an organic farmer in the town of Taleigao, was one of the few who did not feel the shortage. You have grown fruits and vegetables in your garden for almost 60 years. “Because we depend on other states for vegetables, we have to accept inferior products,” Dande expresses disapproval. “It is not too late to start cultivating within the state.”
It is a view shared by many Goans now. Kitchen gardens are back in vogue after a long time, as people try to grow their own food in the comfort of their home. In villages, fallow land is being plowed after years, even decades. The lessons of the running of the bulls are not lost. “We buy rice for three times the price,” says Elsa Fernandes, a Santa Cruz resident who studies environmental architecture. “It was for not using the land we have. Only agriculture can support us when all other sectors go down. ”
It is a view shared by many Goans now. Kitchen gardens are back in vogue after a long time, as people try to grow their own food in the comfort of their home. In villages, fallow land is being plowed after years, even decades. The lessons of the running of the bulls are not lost. “We buy rice for three times the price,” says Elsa Fernandes, a Santa Cruz resident who studies environmental architecture. “It was for not using the land we have. Only agriculture can support us when all other sectors go down. ”
Santa Cruz has (reclaimed) khazan lands bordering other villages and the capital Panaji, which were left fallow because the gates on a stream and the package were not maintained. But during the shutdown, village residents formed two new farmer associations and identified land in three neighborhoods for cultivation. In fact, community farming has become popular across the state in recent months. Nestor Rangel, who pioneered community farming in the island town of St. Estevam in 2018, says he is awash with inquiries.
Read more of this series “We are growing rice in July, and after harvesting it, we will plant legumes and vegetables in November-December,” says Olavio Fernandes, one of the new farmers in Santa Cruz. In total, 50 villagers began cultivating the Khazan lands that extend over the neighboring villages of Dongrim and Neura. In Neura, farmers have planted rice seedlings in the Khazans. In Dongrim, the Khazans were submerged for 25 years, but now the water has been drained and deposits have been built around the land.
Perpetua Araujo, a retired school teacher, shows the way on the island of Divar, where she has leased 8,000 square meters. “After growing rice in the Kharif season and vegetables in the Rabi season, I intend to take hydroponic crops (growing plants in water instead of soil),” she says.
The Goa government is helping farmers with a 50% subsidy on vegetable seeds. State agriculture director Nevil Alphonso says the number of grant applicants has doubled this year.
(This story is part of a series in association with Facebook. Facebook has no editorial role in this story.)
