BICHOLIM: The farmers from Mayem in Bicholim have stated that they are suffering losses for the last two years, and this year they have a new challenge to face as pigeons are seen destroying their seeds.
The farmers are also worried that there have been very little or no rains since the last ten days, which they claim would further damage the crop. “There is a delay in sowing the seeds, and now since last few days, there is very little rain which is a cause of worry,” Kashinath Mayekar from Mayem said.
In Mayem, there is Mula khazan, Sonarbhat khazan and Shikeri khazan, where many farmers cultivate their fields. “There is a particular time when the sowing of seeds is done, and if it is done after Sanjao festival, pigeons enter the fields and damage the crop. This year same thing has happened.” Mayekar told.
The farmers claim that they have to guard the fields, and it is impossible to do so throughout the day. “During last two years, there was heavy rainfall, and most of the fields were destroyed. The government had promised to give compensation, but Mayem farmers have not got anything.” Mayekar claimed.
They state that the subsidy that they get on paddy is very less. The agriculture department supplies seeds like Goa Dhan 2 and Goa Dhan 3, which gives high yield but is the government is not buying this type of rice. “There is high demand for Jyoti variant of paddy so the government should make a hybrid of this variant which would help the farmers,” Mayekar explained.
The sarpanch of Mayem panchayat, Vishwas Chodankar, also lamented on the fact that the pigeons are damaging the crop this year. “Pigeons destroy the entire field. If the crop is spread in the field, these pigeons eat away all the seeds. This year there will be a loss for the farmers from Mayem as there is a delay in the entire process this year.” Chodankar told.
