Miguel Braganza
‘Ambeamchem Fest’ was hosted at Corlim and Panaji on two consecutive weekends, along with the three-day long Konkan Fruit Fest from May 13 to 15 in Panaji. The GenNext has been leading these events in the Botanical Society of Goa (BSG), associated with the ‘Festakar’ Marius Fernandes, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), and the Directorate of Agriculture for over two decades now. The student volunteers Ashish Prabhugaonkar, Priyanka Naik, Liza Pinheiro, Akshatra Fernandes, Puja Phadte, Riya Metri, Preety Velip, and Gayatri Gawas, are now leaders of the event. Alston Dias and Estella Pires give the event computer and social media support. Together all of them work as one TEAM – Together Everyone Achieves More.
The days of youth are not the days to rest on the laurels. It is time to say: ‘Yeh Dil Maange More.’ And, so it is.
Plans are now being made for the Plant Utsav 2022 on a bigger scale than the pre-pandemic version in November 2019. Growing fruit plants in pots is possible with guavas, chickoos, hog plums, jagomas, mattoma or mbola plum, star fruit, star apple, many kinds of cherries, mulberries, jaboticaba, West Indian figs and all kinds of citrus fruits like limes, lemons and pomelo. We will know about the possibilities of growing other fruits in November 2022.
The Konkan Fruit Fest has already highlighted fruit plants and bonsai. Many garden enthusiasts have bought fruit plants from the nursery owners at the event. The plants grow in pots as ideas keep growing in these young minds. There are other fruits that can be gown in pots like strawberry and pineapple.
The ’Plant Utsav’ will also showcase vegetable plants in pots from chilies, capsicum, tomatoes, to cherry tomatoes and eggplant or brinjal, in both, seedling and grafted forms. Also, there is the bush pepper in rooted cutting and grafted forms.
The winter vegetables like radish, carrot, beetroot, knol-kohl, palak, fenugreek, mustard greens, and tropical lettuce are options.
Government agencies like IIHR of ICAR are selling seeds delivered through courier service and with many nurseries selling online the dependence on local dealers has been reduced.
In addition, Goa Directorate of Agriculture has become proactive in the era of Nevil Alphonso and seeds are available at Zonal Agriculture Offices, whose network will soon include Vasco.
A majority of alumni of Don Bosco College of Agriculture, Sulcorna, have proved their mettle. If Vandit Naik has picked up the Goa State Award of ‘Krishi Ratna 2021’ with the able support fellow alumna, Priyanka; Liza Pinheiro has been chosen as the ‘StartUp of the year 2022’ by GCCI-FIIRE.
Three alumni of the first batch completed post graduate studies outside Goa and a dozen of the second batch secured admission to post graduate studies in SHUATS-Allahabad, Prayagraj, accredited to ICAR. There has been nothing lacking in the teaching-learning process at the DBCA-Sulcorna. Its students have proved their capacity in both academics and in organisational ability. They now have the self-confidence needed to achieve more.