Margao: Over a year after state govt rolled out the Goa State Amritkal Agriculture Policy, 2025 (GSAAP-2025), stakeholders say implementation on the ground remains slow, with progressive farmers and agro-entrepreneurs calling for speedier execution and fine-tuning.TOI had repeatedly flagged Goa’s long-standing absence of a comprehensive agriculture policy. Reports had pointed out that without a well-designed framework integrating agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, and allied departments, farmers were left without clear direction. Experts had argued for a unified policy to coordinate the state’s fragmented farming set-up.GSAAP-2025 spans 36 core areas, including soil health, seed and planting material, mechanisation, precision farming, farmer producer organisations (FPOs), agro-tourism, and extension services. It was pitched as a roadmap to address gaps in planning and coordination. But stakeholders now say the policy exists largely on paper.Agro researcher Sachin Tendulkar said the agriculture department should draw up a time-bound action plan and strengthen administrative continuity. “Lately, directors have been changing every two to three months on superannuation, and that affects continuity. The department should identify second-rung officers and train them well in advance,” he said. Tendulkar also pointed to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) as a potential funding source for agriculture initiatives in mining-affected areas, saying it remained underutilised.Progressive farmer Pandurang Patil of Rivona, who was part of the policy’s drafting committee, echoed concerns over frequent leadership changes. “Directors keep changing frequently, and by the time a new one settles in, valuable time is lost. Govt should set up a task force, with officers next in line for the director’s post trained well in advance,” Patil said. He also stressed the need for tighter inter-departmental coordination — bringing in animal husbandry, fisheries, and town and country planning, along with agriculture — to address inconsistencies in the policy document and ensure smoother execution.Not everyone, however, views the slow rollout as a policy failure. Former agriculture director, Nevil Afonso, described GSAAP-2025 as a guiding framework rather than a standalone programme. “This policy is essentially a guiding framework — it means the department should align all its schemes with it, and that is happening,” he said. He added that the priority now should be faster implementation. “What’s needed now is acceleration: adopting new technology, pushing mechanisation, and ensuring every activity on the ground stays in step with the policy.”The policy sets out long-term targets, including doubling the area under pulses cultivation from 3,600ha to 7,200ha over the next 10 years. It also envisages community-based soil testing labs and soil health card kiosks at every zonal agriculture office, aimed at improving soil management and farm productivity across the state.
