Vijai Sardesai mulls promoting integrated farming in Goa with special scheme

Goa Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai Saturday said the state government was willing to formulate a special scheme to promote the concept of integrated farming here. He was addressing a paddy farmers' meet organised by NABARD and Indian Centre for Agricultural Research on 'popularising good post-harvest management practices for field crops of Goa'. "If you start an integrated farming project, then we are ready to design a separate scheme to support it along with NABARD and ICAR. If any farmers' club comes forward, we can help it under community farming or any other scheme," the minister said.

"The integrated farming concept will have fisheries, poultry, dairy and agriculture together in one project," he said, adding that the ICAR had developed an integrated farming model which can be followed by the farmers. He said the Centre's plan to double farm income by 2022 will need the reduction in post-harvest losses as well as value addition by way of better varieties of crops. "Research shows there is the loss of up to 30 per cent post-harvest due to wrong practices followed by farmers," he added. He said farming under present conditions in Goa is not profitable and efforts must be taken to bring it "out of the red".

(With inputs from agencies.)