Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: The Goa government is set to examine key reforms to bolster the state’s agricultural sector, as issues related to support prices, subsidies, and farmer empowerment dominated the Assembly discussions.
Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas criticised the minimal increase of ₹2 in the support price for paddy cultivation, demanding a hike of ₹30 to make it more viable for farmers. In response, Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant clarified that the ₹2 hike was a Central Government move, but assured that the State Government is already offering additional support to farmers.
Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar raised concerns over the assured support price of coconuts, saying the current ₹15 per nut was too low. He urged an increase to ₹30 to benefit local producers. Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik assured the House that the suggestion would be considered.
On the education and training front, the government has introduced Agriculture as a subject at the secondary level, with mandatory field visits. CM Sawant said the state is actively promoting agri-clinics to provide expert guidance to farmers. One such clinic has already been launched, and agriculture graduates can now avail loans up to ₹20 lakh to set up such ventures.
Chief Minister Sawant also stated that Goa is among the few states that procure and sell produce directly from farmers on a large scale, a model not even followed by many agriculture-heavy states. He credited the government’s dedicated corporation for the success of this initiative.
Responding to Mandrem MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, who flagged the inadequacy of ₹1 lakh loans for ST farmers and called for increasing the loan amount to ₹5 lakh and subsidies from 50% to 80%, Agriculture Minister Naik assured that the concerns would be reviewed sympathetically.
CM Sawant further assured that the government would consider revising assured support prices for various horticultural crops. He said he would direct the Agriculture Department and the Horticulture Corporation to prepare a proposal for the Finance Department. “I agree it has not been revised for a long time,” he admitted.
MLA Nilesh Cabral also emphasised the growing interest of youth in agriculture as a profitable sector and called for expanding cultivation areas and enforcing guidelines to boost productivity in the state.
