• The farmer Mahesh Keny has shown production of 14 thousand coconut in just 53 tress which is situated in his ancestral property which is approximately 30 thousand square meter area, the co- owner of said property has also expressed shock on the development.
• The RTI documents reveal the farmer has taken a support price of Rs 70-000 to Rs 80,000 per plucking season.
• Moreover, he works in the same department at Margao.
• The co-owner has now made a complain to the Chief Secretary after the Agriculture department refused to act.
GAURANG PRABHU
MARGAO: At a time when the farmers are waiting for years to get the compensation for their crop losses here is a story of a coconut farmer, close of a politician, has fudged documents to get more support price by showing massive production.
The farmer at Adnem claimed a magical production, with just 53 trees in his farm the farmer Mahesh Keny has given aggregate yield of more than 10 thousand to 14 thousand coconut per plucking cycle.
This is at a time when the coconut farmers are struggling with different issues like unavailability of coconut pluckers, trained workers in addition to dangerous disease like bud rot, Eriophyid Mite, Stem bleeding etc. Vermin animals also making huge damage to coconuts.
The production of coconut has really gone down in the country.
But here in Adnem in Quepem taluka it’s a different story altogether.
The SCAM
The farmer Mahesh Keny has shown production of 14 thousand coconut in just 53 tress which is situated in his ancestral property which is approximately 30 thousand square meter area, the co- owner of said property has also expressed shock on the development.
The RTI documents reveal the farmer has taken a support price of Rs 70-000 to Rs 80,000 per plucking season.
Moreover, he works in the same department at Margao.
The co-owner has now made a complain to the Chief Secretary after the Agriculture department refused to act.
Goa totally has 26,169 hectares square meter area of land under coconut cultivation and the average yield per hectare is 5030 nuts.
The two main varieties are Benaulim and Calangute. Recently a company named by Deepjoy has developed a new variety which is comparably short and the company also claims that their variety yield more.
Goenkarponn spoke to experts of coconut farming they said “I cannot believe the excavation of 53 trees and more than 10 thousand coconut yield. It is totally impossible”.
Goemkarponn spoke to a progressive farmer from Paroda Dilip Hegde, who said that this looks fishy.
“This can only happen on paper while claiming support price for coconut in Zonal agriculture office by showing fake bills and fake documents,” he stated.
Goemkarponn also tried to contact the legendary farmer but he successfully manage to escape before telling the secret.
Later Goemkarponn contacted the co-owner of the same property, who said “I was shocked when I came to know about the figures, as there is almost no yield in that farm and coconut trees are very old and week.”
Co-owner also said that the complaint has been filed against such fraud taken place in the property and department is trying to shield the culprit as he is working in same department.
This is just one case we found in the department and there could be many such cases, sources revealed.
“Total scams in Agriculture of support price would be in crores,” sources allege.
Government support price
The State government last year notified an increase in assured support price for cashew nuts, coconut and peas (Alsano).
As per the new rates, the assured support price for cashew nuts will be Rs 125 per kg, as against the current price of Rs 105 per kg.
Also, for coconut the support price was hiked Rs 12 per nut, Rs 2 per nut hike from the existing price of Rs 10 per nut.
Similarly, for Alsano, the support price is hiked from Rs 70 per kg to Rs 100 per kg.
The decision to hike the support price was taken in April following demand from the farmers.
