Chinchinim farmers to cultivate paddy on another 100ha of land

Canacona: The Chinchinim Farmers’ Club, riding on the success of last year’s bumper crop, has now set an ambitious target of bringing around 100 hectares of land under paddy cultivation this kharif season. This includes an additional 30 hectares of fallow land.
Two years ago, with the support and assistance of Fr George Quadros, the club had taken up the task of reviving paddy cultivation at Diggaband on land lying fallow for over three decades.With this initiative, nearly 20 hectares of fields were cultivated and the following year, the club brought an additional 30 hectares of land under cultivation.
Agnelo Furtado, president of the farmers’ club, said that the success of the last two years boosted morale and they took on the challenge of bringing more land under cultivation. The group was able to identify 15 hectares in Chinchinim and another 1 lakh sqm of land in Deusua.
However, some farmers were badly affected last season due to ingress of saline water into their fields. Furtado said. A tender worth Rs 2.5 crore has been approved for construction of a retaining wall, plus restoration of five sluice gates by the water resource department (WRD), said Furtado.
Furtado also said that the club is also ensuring fencing of fields for protection from cattle, adding that farmers can focus on cultivating paddy as well as vegetables beyond the monsoon as WRD has extended the expanse of the irrigation canal in Chinchinim.