GOANS LET US MAKE OURSELVES SELF SUFFICIENT IN VEGETABLES by Menino Fernandes

There was a time when Goa was self sufficient in vegetables as everything was grown locally. There was plenty of land available for the purpose. The vast fields of those times can still be seen along on both the sides of the road are a reminder of the past. The communidade fields were cultivated during the monsoon where paddy was grown.

The same fields were used to grow vegetables like onions, chillies, sweet potatoes, turnips, chitki, mullo (white carrot), Kaingam (watermelons) etc. Can this be seen now a days? No. Most of the lands of Goa are used by the ugly politicians like Churchill Alemao and the others to construct posh and luxury buildings (flats). They have started filling up the lands and constructing buildings in the place of the fields. Where buildings are not possible they have started mining to destroy the land of Goa.

This is where the state like Belgaum has taken advantage of the situation in Goa. The main cause of Goa living at the mercy of other states sending their product to Goa which is sub standard quality wise compared to the one that is grown in Goa.

My mother hailed from Merces, and as a kid I was brought up by my maternal Grandmother in Merces. I remember even my father though from Valpoi owned a vast field in along the Panjim – Merces road which my uncles were cultivating and growing rice during the monsoons and water melons during the summer.

Not going far in Valpoi my mother use to grow onions, and other baji (vegetables) in a porsum and me and my brother as school kids used to help her in digging the fields (friendly offer by some villagers for growing vegetables) and make our PORSUM. We were yearly self sufficient in Onions and Chillies. I remember before going to school me and my brother along with our mother used to go and water the porsum. We never had to buy onions throughout the year till the next summer came and the procedure would be repeated. Our porsum used to be located about half a kilometer away from our house.

But now the present politicians are grabbing the communidade fields to fill up their treasury and their Swiss bank accounts. Farming is not encouraged by the government now. Agriculture department is a name sake department. The farmers do not get any benefit from the Zonal Agriculture Department. The staff only laze away their time in the office drawing a huge salary from the crooked government.

The result the fields are lying idle and getting deteriorated day by day. No encouragement is given to the students who are doing their Horticulture. The subsidies are there for name sake. For a Niz Goenkar farmer to get a subsidy he has to produce hundreds of documents and at times he even has to prove that he is a Goan inspite of having his birth registered during the Portuguese times.

We say the present generation is running away from agriculture. The question is WHY? If the government encourages the present generation to cultivate fields and grow rice during monsoon and vegetables during summer I am sure that Goa will never run short of vegetable grown on its soil much more tastier than the one brought from Belgaum or other states.

But the present Politicians will lose their grip of the under the table money they get from the vegetable vendors from Belgaum. The Belgaum vegetable traders are making Goans dance to their tunes and leave us at their mercy.

To end up my article I would like to request the Goans to cultivate their fields throughout the season growing rice in monsoon and vegetables in summer thereby we can stop this dependency on Belgaum and other states. We can also kill one more bird along with this step: get the illegal HAFTAS of the present politicians stopped from the out of state traders. From Digamber Kamat to the last minister get their illegal allowance from these vegetable vendors.

Dear Goan youth or the present generation: Graduating or holding university degree does not give us wings to fly up in the sky. Grab Kudou, Pikao and Khorem and start doing fields and let us beat away the outer states and our politicians who are hell bend on destroying our fields and our POROMPORA (tradition). Do not shy away because you are a graduate. Believe me there is more respect in doing fields than serving an outside master in Goa.

Remember this Amonkar or whoever he is, is only bluffing us the Goans but underneath the table he is getting his share. The words coming out of his mouth and the politicians’ mouth are well calculated and in advance informed to the opponents for considerations and to get their HAFTAS and to promote the out of state trade of vegetables.  Let us halt these sale of fields to the outsiders and cultivate our own fields.

So my dear Goans let us make ourselves self sufficient in our needs rather than depend on other states and fill up the bellies of the greedy and gluttonous politicians of the era.