In a bid to introduce and enforce the idea that mechanised farming is not a tedious task and that it can reduce man hours and do the job as efficiently as manual labour, Reverend Father George Quadros from the Don Bosco Loutolim Society leads one busy life. But his goal is clear and he works head to that end
Photo Credits: Fr George Quadros story Mayem - Narayan Pissurlenkar_3
It’s a long uphill road, one that takes more time than usual. The Sateri temple near Mayem lake lies quiet at the top of the hill, lost in its isolation. No one is around, apart from the local pujari. “They all have gone to the fields,” explains the pujari pointing in the direction of the field. A walk for hardly four minutes leads to muck filled fields, in the distance a slim figure rides atop a strange vehicle, with a bunch of enthusiastic villagers standing around. “There he is - Fr George,” quips an elderly villager pointing to the man on the vehicle who from any angle looks no different than any other local farmer. The Rev Fr George Quadros, project director at Don Bosco Loutolim Society in South Goa is here in soiled clothes working shoulder to shoulder with the farmers on a mechanised farming promotion mission.
Fr George makes a U-turn on the vehicle like an expert and continues planting mechanically with much devotion. This continues non-stop for a while. The bunch of farmers is anxious to know if the operations will complete by evening. “Father, when will my turn come? Hope you complete my field before dusk, let’s not stretch it to tomorrow,” one of elderly farmers requests politely as Fr George pauses to drink some water.
The farming priest is visibly happy that the earlier reluctant farmers are now increasingly willing to embrace mechanical farming techniques. “Our efforts are bearing fruit. We held demonstrations in two of the fields here last year and seeing the positive results, this year 35 local farmers approached us with request to transplant their paddy and we are transplanting in 65,000 sq mts of land in Mayem,” states Fr George.
However Mayem is not the only village where the project is ongoing. “Don Bosco Society is catering to farmers across Goa. This includes villages like Velsao, Majorda, Betalbatim, Curtorim, Surla, Cavellosim, Saligao, Anjuna, Chandor have also adopted mechanical farming and we are service providers to all of them. In 2016, during the kharif season we cultivated 8.5 lakh sq mtrs and half of it in the rabi season, i.e. four lakh sq mtrs,” briefs Fr George. He explains how he saw the demonstration of this Japanese make paddy transplanter in an exhibition in Delhi and was impressed. Don Bosco Society purchased the machine, which costs more than Rs 10 lakh, and is now the service provider with minimum charges of Rs 1.50 per sq mtr. The government offers 75 per cent subsidy on the purchase of this machine but individual farmers cannot afford it.
But why is he operating the machine himself instead of employing someone else for the job. “This is a crucial time to replant the paddy and we have only one machine. It’s fully computerised and we can’t take the risk of allowing some untrained person to operate it. Our work will come to a halt. These farmers have high hopes from us,” explains Fr George who has been shuttling through various villages to help out the farmers. All his days are fully booked.
Anant Shet, a traditional farmer, explains the situation, “It was after Fr George did demonstrations in two of our fields last year that we were convinced about the usefulness of the machine. It will save us lot of money. The women labourers charge Rs 300 per day while men demand Rs 500-600. Plus, if we do the work manually it takes days while the machine takes only a few hours.” Farmer Sharad Shet, who took the lead in accumulating the farmers says, “We clubbed together and requested Fr George for mechanised farming.” Sharad’s 5,500 sq mt underwent mechanical cultivation this year. A group of farmers from Mayem are seeking Don Bosco Society’s help to sow their fields.
The success of cost-saving mechanized transplanting system will boost a revival of paddy cultivation in Goa provided the government intervenes,” fees Fr George whose efforts as promoter of this technology have shown results. A priest for 30 years, Fr George was earlier involved with biogas, village solar lights, watershed projects in Canacona which have their own success stories. This time it’s mechanical farming.
Is it a community farming? “Not yet. The farmers pay us for their respective field area. But it will take that form soon. I can’t turn my back to the farmers now. The show must go on. There’s no break even for a single day. There are bookings for the next two seasons with farmers demanding which brand of rice they want with specifications of their total land. I have a team of four and we sow the rice daily to keep our trays ready. It’s a cycle.I have to put the technology in place, or the farmers will feel that the technology has failed. This will bring our farmers back in the fields. I am looking at transfer of technology. Once this mechanised farming is accepted all over Goa, I can rest,” smiles this friend of farmer.
And what’s the remuneration? “What for?” a confused Fr George wants to know. “I have been provided everything by Don Bosco Society. Why do I need money for?” he asks back with a smile. Indeed, this 61-year-old humanitarian who has gifted his entire life to the cause and upliftment of the society, doesn't require any remuneration - just a pat on his back is all that makes him smile.
Fr George’s efforts will surely write the success story of mechanical farming in Goa, where labour is scarce and expensive making agriculture a tedious task for few. Replacing manual work and shortening man hours will gradually change the face of Goa’s agricultural economy motivating more sons of the soil to return to their traditional vocation - farming, reap profits and smile all their way to the bank.
--
Farmers speak
I have been sowing paddy manually for the past 45 years. The replanting must be done between 15-25 December for Rabi crop otherwise we fall short of water in the later stages of the crop as the lake dries up at the end of March and in April, when the fields need water at the time of graining. I was deprived of any subsidy since I did not have Kisan Card earlier but now that I have been issued one, I am expecting subsidy this year. It will cover 70 per cent of my expenses that have gone into mechanised farming as fees which still came cheaper than labour charges. Fr George has come as a solace to us. We salute him.
Ranjana Gaonkar
I have been doing farming manually for over a decade now. I have studied up to std VIII and so can’t get a job. With mechanical farming technique from Don Bosco Society I have had bumper crops twice. It saved me the cost of seeds as they came free in the form of ready trays of plants. I didn't have to sow the seeds, wait for 15 days to grow them, pluck them and then replant in the field. This indeed saved lot of man hours and money.
Umesh Gaonkar
Mechanical farming is a boon. There are some minor discomforts which can be resolved easily. The bunds break while planting with machine and cannot be retouched for four days. The boundary is a must or else the weeds begin growing. But this hassle is not serious one and there is a solution for it.
Balakrishna Pandurang Shet
