Area under paddy cultivation shrinking in Ponda

NIRGOSH GAUDE | NT

Ponda: In a shocking reality with regard to agriculture in Ponda taluka, the area under the paddy cultivation for both, rabi and kharif seasons has dropped by a whopping 63 per cent in the last ten years.

This has brought down the total area under paddy cultivation to a mere 1,960 hectares for the year 2020-21 from 5,362 hectares in 2011-12. Information obtained by this daily from the zonal agriculture office in Ponda under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed this.

According to experts, shortage of labourers, high cost of production and commercialisation of the cultivable land are the three main factors that have compelled people to stay away from cultivating their land.

Besides, land ownership issue is depriving the farmers of the benefits of Krishi cards thus pushing them away from government schemes. Unavailability of seeds and loss of crop due to breach of bandharas resulting in saline water destroying the paddy fields are the other reasons why farmers in the taluka have not been cultivating paddy in the recent days.

As per the information obtained under RTI, in the year 2011-12, the total area under paddy cultivation was 5,362 hectares (2,717 hectares under kharif and 2,645 hectares under rabi). In 2020-21, the total area under paddy cultivation came down to 1,960 hectares (700 hectares under kharif and 1,260 hectares under rabi), which was almost 63.44 per cent lower compared to the area under cultivation in 2011-12.

Interestingly, the area under kharif has dropped almost 50 per cent in just one year, which is huge. Frequent damage to the bandharas and saline water entering the farms is said to be the main reason. Also, the heavy rains that submerged many fields last year have had an impact on this year’s farming, said zonal agriculture office staffers.

In Ponda, almost all villages have paddy cultivation area of which Bandora has 169 hectares, Betki (375 hectares), Khandola (150 hectares), Kundaim (103 hectares), Shiroda (302 hectares), Veling Priol (197 hectares) and Marcaim (173 hectares). Villages like Querim, Codar-Conxem, Vadi Talaulim have the least area under paddy cultivation, which is around two hectares each.

Agriculture officers are claiming that mechanisation has been introduced to a large extent in the state in order to deal with the labour shortage issue. They said the government is offering 50 per cent subsidy in the rates. “From ploughing to harvesting, everything can be done with the help of machines and it also reduces the cost of production. Besides, the government has a support price system for paddy and offers Rs 20 per kg rate,” an officer said.

However, according to farmers, mechanised farming is not possible in all areas and for small farm lands, mechanised farming is not a viable option or not accessible. “In such cases, the government should consider providing subsidies on labour too, like subsidies it provides on mechanisation, so that small farmers can benefit from it and cultivate their land,” farmers said.

Earlier, paddy cultivation was like a family culture and many farmers engaged in cultivation through community farming methods, as most of the farmers owned small pieces of land in huge fields. So cultivating jointly was the only option. But today, with other employment opportunities and differences in the social structure, traditional community farming methods are dying a slow death.

With lesser number of farmers showing interest in farming their lands, the few interested farmers from a particular area are unable to cultivate land, as they find it difficult to carry out tasks like constructing bandharas for water, ploughing and harvesting with few labourers.

“It’s not possible or viable to construct a big bandhara for a small piece of land. Also, shortage of labour is another issue linked to this,” farmers from Bethoda area said. “Presently, finding labourers for paddy cultivation is difficult and the cost of labour too has increased. Farmers in the state are not getting a proper rate for their produce,” lamented another farmer.

The farmers are also facing the land ownership issue, which has been acting as a major hurdle for those who want to opt for Krishi card. As per the information, over 50 per cent of paddy farmers in Ponda do not have the Krishi card, which is mandatory to obtain the benefit of any government scheme related to agriculture. These farmers are mostly tenants or cultivating in other people’s lands and landlords are not giving them the no-objection certificate (NOC) required to obtain the Krishi card.

As a result, most of the farmers are unable to avail the benefits of government schemes and thus find the cost of paddy cultivation high compared to their returns.

Another factor that has drastically affected paddy cultivation in the taluka is the commercialisation of cultivable land. In many parts of Ponda farm land, especially paddy fields, once left barren, are converted into commercial land and buildings constructed in the areas.

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