Aldona villagers breathe life into fallow fields
Panaji:
The once-forgotten fields of Panarim are being lovingly stirred back to life. To rekindle the age-old tradition of paddy farming, the villagers of Aldona, along with the Farmers Club of Nachinola , have come together to plough nearly 50,000 sqm of fallow land that lay untouched for over a decade.
'Our target is to revive 1 lakh sqm in Aldona,' said Nachinola farmer Vithal Naik. 'While there are individual farmers in Aldona, it was difficult to sustain agricultural activity due to the labour costs, difficulty in obtaining mechanised farming devices, and the high cost of cultivation,' Naik said.
The Farmers Club of Nachinola was established in 2013, and since then, they have seen a successful yield of paddy over the years.
However, the biggest achievement was the restoration of a pond in the village, which eased irrigation activity for labourers at the farm. This year onwards, the club has resolved to help other farmers form a community and bring fallow lands under cultivation.
Ten farmers from Aldona are joining hands with 20 Nachinola farmers this season, while another 15 Aldona farmers will join them during the rabi season. Together, the farmers club plans to sow Jaya and Jyoti varieties of paddy this kharif season, followed by vegetables in the rabi season.
This week, the farmers undertook ploughing to prepare the land for this mission. 'Our plan is to take up one village each season and help them adopt community farming so that we can revive more fallow lands across Goa,' Naik said.
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Panaji: The once-forgotten fields of Panarim are being lovingly stirred back to life. To rekindle the age-old tradition of paddy farming, the villagers of Aldona, along with the Farmers Club of Nachinola , have come together to plough nearly 50,000 sqm of fallow land that lay untouched for over a decade. 'Our target is to revive 1 lakh sqm in Aldona,' said Nachinola farmer Vithal Naik. 'While there are individual farmers in Aldona, it was difficult to sustain agricultural activity due to the labour costs, difficulty in obtaining mechanised farming devices, and the high cost of cultivation,' Naik said. The Farmers Club of Nachinola was established in 2013, and since then, they have seen a successful yield of paddy over the years. However, the biggest achievement was the restoration of a pond in the village, which eased irrigation activity for labourers at the farm. This year onwards, the club has resolved to help other farmers form a community and bring fallow lands under cultivation. Ten farmers from Aldona are joining hands with 20 Nachinola farmers this season, while another 15 Aldona farmers will join them during the rabi season. Together, the farmers club plans to sow Jaya and Jyoti varieties of paddy this kharif season, followed by vegetables in the rabi season. This week, the farmers undertook ploughing to prepare the land for this mission. 'Our plan is to take up one village each season and help them adopt community farming so that we can revive more fallow lands across Goa,' Naik said.
