Goa - Region Profile

Goa is the smallest Indian state by area (0.37 million hectare) and the fourth smallest by population (1.4 million). Located in West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa lies between the latitudes 14°53′54″ N and 15°40′00″ N and longitudes 73°40′33″ E and 74°20′13″ E. Agriculture, while of shrinking importance to the economy over the past four decades, offers part-time employment to a sizeable portion of the populace here. Rice is the main agricultural crop, followed by areca nut, cashew and coconut. The fishing industry provides employment for about forty thousand people of Goa. Table 1 illustrates the current area, productivity and production statistics of major crops in Goa.

Nutrient consumption in Goa in the past decade is given in Fig. 2. During the year 2012-13, the fertilizer consumption increased to the level of 5.38 thousand tonnes showing steep decline of 29.4% over 2011-12. The nutrient wise consumption analysis shows that during 2012-13, N consumption dropped by 9.48% whereas P₂O₅ and K₂O consumption went further down by 38.95% and 48.15% respectively over the previous year. The NPK ratio, which was 12.8:1.7:1 during 2012-13 changed to 3.3:1.5:1 during 2013-14. . Using the area and production of major crops, the total nutrient (N, P₂O₅ and K₂O) removal by each crop was calculated and a nutrient balance sheet was prepared (table 2).

Table 1: Latest Crop Production Statistics of Goa-2012-13

Parameters	Rice	Total Cereals	Total Pulses	Total Foodgrains	Total Oilseeds	Sugarcane
Area	45.8	45.9	10	55.8	3.1	0.9
Production	122.8	122.9	9	131.8	7.5	46
Productivity	2679	2678	902	2361	2409	53871

Area ('000 ha); Production ('000 tonnes); Productivity (kg/ha); # Production and Productivity in 1000 bales of 180 kg each

Table 2: Nutrient balance sheet for major crops of Goa (2012-13)

Crop	Area (in '000 ha)	Production (in '000 tonnes)	Nutrient Removal (kg/tonne)			Total Removal (tonnes)
			N	P2O5	K2O	N	P2O5	K2O
Rice	45.8	122.8	20.1	11.2	30	2468.28	1375.36	3684
Total Pulses	10	9	40	5	20	360	45	180
Total Oilseeds	3.1	7.5	54	14	46	405	105	345
Sugarcane	0.9	46	1.7	0.2	2	78.2	9.2	92
		Total removal by major crops				3311.48	1534.56	4301
		Total fertilizer consumption in Goa				2770	1630	980
		Consumption * Efficiency factor				1108	489	686
		Balance/Deficit				-2203.48	-1045.56	-3615

Efficiency of N=40%; P2O5= 30%; and K2O=70%

*Crop production and fertilizer use data are retrieved from Fertiliser Statistics, 2013-14, The Fertiliser Association of India, New Delhi