Nisser Dias | tnnColva: After weeks of delayed rainfall, the monsoon’s resurgence has eased paddy farmers’ worries and created favourable conditions for transplantation. However, farmers across Salcete are now facing a shortage of experienced workers trained in paddy transplantation.Three days into the wet spell, many farmers are struggling to find workers for the specialised, time-sensitive task of moving saplings into flooded fields. Farmers who retained workers for pre-monsoon work were able to begin immediately; others are now scrambling for available hands.Varca farmer Francis Colaco said the late monsoon led many women workers to return to their native villages to work on their own farms. “Most have told me it will take at least a week to finish work there before they can return. Workers available in Goa are already engaged in other fields,” he said.Another farmer said workers are being booked in advance, and some are demanding premium wages to move up the list.Typically, groups of six to eight women move from field to field. The prevailing wage is about Rs 700 per worker per day, but with peak demand during transplantation, some groups are asking Rs 900 without any change in hours, which usually run from 8 am to 11 am and 3 pm to 6 pm.Blair Rodrigues, president of the Carmona Farmers’ Club, said the repeated labour crunch highlights the need for mechanisation. “Mechanised transplantation is faster, more accurate, less labour-intensive, and ultimately more profitable. While some farmers have adopted modern methods, many still depend on manual transplantation, which no longer matches today’s farming realities,” he said.
