Panaji: Farmers in the villages of Camurlim, Mapusa, and Cumbharjua have adopted mechanised paddy transplantation on their khazan lands. With guidance from the directorate of agriculture and support from mechanical cultivation officers, the initiative was undertaken for community farming.Mechanised paddy transplantation, unlike traditional manual methods, uses specialised machines to transplant young rice seedlings directly into the prepared field in neat rows. This method reduces labour, increases efficiency, and ensures uniform crop spacing, ultimately leading to improved yields and reduced drudgery for farmers.At the Camurlim khazan, located near the Sai Baba Temple, over 25 farmers came together to mechanically transplant paddy across five hectares, all in a single day. “The event was made possible through a 50% subsidy provided at the source by the directorate of agriculture,” said Dinesh Harmalkar, a transplanting service provider.He said that the use of machines also helped overcome time constraints, labour shortages, and the physical strain traditionally associated with paddy farming. Similarly, in Cumbharjua, a community of farmers used the newly constructed Krishi Setu—a bridge across a rivulet—to transport their agricultural machinery into fields that had long been difficult to access.“Thanks to the efforts of an enthusiastic farmer from Cumbharjua and the cooperation of over 10 fellow cultivators, 1 hectare of paddy was successfully transplanted mechanically for the first time,” Harmalkar said. At Camurlim, govt extended 50% financial assistance to encourage the use of mechanised techniques.
