Team Goemkarponn
VALPOI: Continuous heavy rains have caused extensive damage to betel nut plantations in Sattari taluka, leaving farmers in distress and struggling with mounting financial losses.
Despite repeated pleas, producers allege that the government has failed to take adequate steps to protect their livelihood.
Sattari is one of the state’s major betel nut-growing regions, where cultivation had expanded after the government’s Bandhara scheme encouraged use of fallow land for agriculture. With strong market demand and attractive prices, many farmers shifted focus to betel nut production. However, this season’s excessive rainfall has led to widespread fruit drop, devastating yields across the taluka.
Farmers say their efforts to protect crops have gone in vain. “We spray medicine at the start of the monsoon to control leakage and crop damage. But this year, the rains were relentless. Even spraying offered no benefit,” said Ramnath Gavkar, a grower from Kodal. He lamented that large quantities of fallen betel nuts now lie wasted in plantations, leaving cultivators helpless.
Another farmer, Narayan Gavas from Keri, pointed out that agriculture in Goa is already struggling to survive. “The labor we put into our fields is not being rewarded. Farmers are fighting to keep agriculture alive, yet the government has not felt our pain,” he said.
Producers warn that if urgent assistance is not provided, the financial stability of many households dependent on betel nut farming could collapse. They have demanded that the government immediately announce a support price for betel nut and roll out compensation schemes to offset the heavy losses.
Until then, farmers say they are left with no choice but to watch their crops rot in despair.
