Gone are Goa’s heydays when the state used to epitomise nature’s best with its green fields breezily swaying in its countryside in the late 70s. Compared to that era, agriculture these days is not vibrant, despite many places holding the potential for a revival of the same thanks to their rich water resources.
One such place, for example, is the Parcem panchayat area which has a very conducive environment and a perfect ecosystem for farming to flourish.
Parcem has plenty of cultivable agricultural land. But this year cultivation has been taken up only at a few places. While some farmers have taken up farming owing to water resources and aid from the government being available to them, many other farmers are keeping their land fallow, abandoning agriculture altogether.
The latter farmers say that the machinery required for tilling and labour are not available on time. Water resources like the river and creek are silted and hence not suitable for irrigation.
Every year, during the monsoon season and during high tide in Chapora River, the sluice gates near the khazan land break and saltwater gushes into the agricultural land, thereby reducing the fertility of the land.
To provide safety to the agricultural fields and also to boost tourism, the Department of Water Resources had the bandhara repaired and developed it as a tourist spot. But instead of helping people, this project has become a nuisance to the farmers.
The then CM Laxmikant Parsekar had planned developmental projects for this constituency. Under this project, the beautification of the Khajangundo Bridge was taken up. People from all over Goa come and visit this place.
But these activities are threatening the local farmers, and the developmental work is of substandard quality.
Local MLA Jit Arolkar has said that farmers will be supported at a personal level to enable them to continue agricultural activities. He has appealed to people to contact him for the same.
