------------------------------------------------------- CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at: http://www.goacom.org/casa-de-goa/noticias.html -------------------------------------------------------
http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=050610 'Puran Sheti' – a Unique Method of Cultivation By Bhiva and Costa The principal Goan crop is paddy followed by coconut, which grows abundantly in groves all along the coast. Cereals and pulses like nachne, ragi, jowar and bajra are grown in hilly areas. Among the fruit trees, the most important are the mango, the jackfruit and the cashew. Some of the famous Mango varieties are mancurade, mussarade, fernandinea and Xavier. There are two paddy seasons, namely Kharif or sorod and the rabi or vaingan. The monsoon crops are called the kharif or sorod crops and the winter crops are called rabi or vaingan crops. Paddy is also grown in a very unique type of non-destructive subsistence cultivation known as 'Puran Sheti'. Before going any further on this type of farming practice, a little bit of background may be necessary, as this will help understand the uniqueness of this type of cultivation. Normal shifting cultivation is a system of cultivation in which a person uses land, whatever may be the size, for a limited period and abandons it or changes what it is used for after a short time. Shifting cultivation is important to many of the inhabitants of tropical forest regions. This system often involves clearing of a piece of forest and using this land for farming until the soil loses fertility. Once the land becomes infertile it is left fallow, natural vegetation is allowed to grow or it is sometimes converted to a different long-term recurring farming practice. An estimated population exceeding 250 million people from all over the world subsist on this type of agriculture. The shifting cultivation system practiced in the tropical forests of western Guerrero, Mexico provides an insight into such systems, especially with regard to crop variety and regarding the way the land is kept fallow. The characteristic of this system is the low crop range, based primarily on growing maize, and has a general lack of management with the land being kept fallow to get back its productivity and fertility or restore it back to its normal level of fertility. Our state also has a somewhat similar shifting cultivation system known as 'Kumeri' and this is largely responsible for growing of nachne, other millets and pulses, which experts condemn as ecologically damaging. In 'Puran Sheti', there is nothing of the sort, but just the temporary use of the river bed, so one can say it is more of a subsistence type of agriculture, though farmers opine that the yield here is much higher than any other type of agriculture. This is mainly due to the rich silt and the humus, which form the base of this type of agriculture. To explain: 'Puran Sheti' is a silt-based system of cultivation of paddy, which is carried out mainly in Sattari taluka. In the preparation period the ground is prepared by the cultivator by first blocking the flow of the river, in this case the Mhadei, by hammering sticks into the river bed and placing stones around the sticks. These stones help in collecting the humus and the rich silt from the flowing river. Humus is nothing but decomposed vegetation which is very fertile. The humus and the silt form a base on which the paddy is sown. After the field is prepared as described earlier, it is surrounded by a kaccha fence of bush and undergrowth. This is done to keep the growing paddy safe from cattle and marauding wild boars. Earlier cultivators used to use only organic fertiliser, but today modernisation has led to usage of non-organic fertiliser. The cultivation is normally done during early December and harvesting is in early April. Another unique point is that this type of agriculture follows village laws as to who does the cultivation and where and the rotation policy too. No other laws apply. Another reason for why this type of agriculture is even more unique is that over the last few decades agriculture in Goa is in a state of steady decline. As per the government estimates for 2001-2002, out of the total reporting area of 36.11 lakh hectares, 13.93 lakh hectares of the area is sown. Further, as per the Economic Survey 2001 conducted by the state government contribution of agriculture along with livestock to the net domestic product of the state is only 15 per cent. It is high time the state government provided the farmers with necessary incentives to promote and safeguard whatever little agricultural activities that exist, especially the unique farming practices like 'Puran Sheti', which will only help the age-old farmers to stick faithfully to their traditional way of life. -- DEV BOREM KORUM. Gabe Menezes. London, England Comment: My late mother had told me that Fernandinea was the best Mango she had ever tasted, excellent for it's taste and texture. I have not had the chance to taste this Mango, is it difficult to find it in season, in Goa ? ------------------------------------------------------- Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with, 'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era. This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim & internationally by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------
