Panaji: In a bid to strengthen Goa’s agricultural backbone, the state government has rolled out enhanced subsidies and revised the assured price for paddy, Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik told the Assembly on Friday.
In a written reply to a question tabled by BJP MLA Kedar Naik, the minister said the state has implemented a wide range of schemes aimed at increasing farm productivity and reducing input costs for farmers.
“These include a 50 per cent subsidy on field operations such as ploughing, tilling, transplanting, and harvesting through departmental tractors or custom-hired machinery,” Naik said.
Farmers also receive 50 per cent subsidy on high-yielding paddy seeds and salt-tolerant varieties to revive khazan lands, the minister said.
Subsidies of 75 percent are extended to SC/ST farmers for fertilizers, while all farmers are eligible for 75 per cent subsidy on pesticides and fungicides, he said adding that organic inputs and soil conditioners are provided at 50 per cent subsidy.
Naik said that in order to mechanise the farming activity, his department also assists in procuring agricultural machinery like tractors, power tillers, weed cutters, and paddy transplanters at subsidies ranging between 50 per cent and 75 per cent.
The minister told the House that the farmers are also supported through mini kits of improved seed varieties for trial purposes and are exposed to new technologies via ATMA and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). Additionally, infrastructure support is provided under the State Sector Scheme for fencing and community farming, he added.
The minister further informed that paddy farmers now receive an assured price of Rs two per kg over and above the Minimum Support Price (MSP) declared by the central government. The difference between the MSP and the price realized from registered agencies will be reimbursed to farmers, he added.
Naik said that losses due to natural calamities and saline water inundation are compensated at Rs 40,000 per hectare under the Shetkari Adhar Nidhi scheme.
The minister said that the government intends to increase subsidies and support prices further.
“From the current financial year (2025-26), revised guidelines under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) have raised the component-wise assistance by 25 per cent to 40 per cent,” Naik said.
He said that the plans are also in place to enhance subsidy support for the construction of biogas plants under the scheme “Development of Manures and Fertiliser.
