Mr. Isidore Domnick Mendes writes: "The weakening of bunds has led to near-destruction of agriculture, because, it has not only led to the spread of saline water in the fields, but, the growth of thick mangroves or tidal swamps in it. Agriculture activity can be restarted, if, we take care of the bunds and remove the silt in the river. Then, the next step should be to make it an economically-viable profession to attract people into its fold," feels agriculturist and dairy farmer, Anselmo Furtado of Choqui vaddo.
"People's take Cormonkars are worried due to the fragile condition of the bunds and the sediments accumulating on the river bed - Agnelo Colaco, resident The weakening of bunds has led to near-destruction of agriculture. It has led to the spread of saline water in the fields and the growth of thick mangroves or tidal swamps in it - Anselmo Furtado, resident Some of our brothers and sisters are doing immense harm to the future generations by releasing sewage into the river - Serafino Cota, resident The authorities are least interested in this grave problem caused by the breaching of bunds and siltation of River Sal - Orlando da Silva, deputy sarpanch and resident" Comment: Goa, like other coastal lands must be experiencing the impacts of rising sea levels. Various Sea level Research Groups estimate a current sea level rise trend of about 3 mm per year. It appears that the melting of the ice in Greenland and the Antarctica is the main driver of this sea level rise. In the present case in Carmona, aside from the issues related to the inadequate upkeep of the bunds and the health impacts of effluent discharge in the water basin of the river Sal, the spread of saline water into agricultural fields is probably the greater threat to the future viability of these agricultural lands. Other than mangroves, it is known that hardly any of the known food crops grow in soils irrigated with salt water. The people of Carmona are facing quite a challenge. It may come as good news to the people affected by rising sea water levels that researchers in the Netherlands have been able to grow a specific kind of potato in soils irrigated with salt water. According to the Inhabitat news item, these potatoes are now being tried in the Indus Valley in Pakistan where the soil has turned saline. It is being reported that over 70 percent of the world is covered in salty sea water and around 250 million people live on salt-fed soil. If indeed an edible potato can be grown in soils irrigated with salt water, this could have a positive impact on global food supplies as more and more cultivated lands the world over are turning unfit for growing food crops due to increased salinity levels caused by rising sea levels and in some cases due to accumulation of sodium chloride (salt) present in fertilizers used. There is also news of a salt tolerant wheat variety being developed in Australia that can grow under salt water conditions. Eventually, food crops may be grown on soils irrigated with sea water. Best Regards, E. DeSousa http://inhabitat.com/salt-grown-potatoes-could-revolutionize-crop-production/ http://inhabitat.com/scientists-develop-salt-tolerant-wheat-that-could-mitigate-global-food-crisis/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_sea_level_rise
