As a part of the curriculum, the Department of Economics & Banking organized a field trip for the students of FY B.Com A & D, to Tanshikar Spice Farm, Netravali, Sanguem, on 22nd October 2022. The students were accompanied by Asst. Prof. Ms. Pretty Pereira and Ms. Lizette D’Costa. The objective of the field trip was to provide students with exposure to production techniques utilized in organic farming, as well as familiarize them with the type of competition faced in the market with regard to such farm products.
The owner of the farm Mr. Chinmay Tanshikar meticulously began by taking the students around and briefing them about each spice produced at the farm. He started with coffee and spoke about how initially there was a monopoly in producing coffee. Next, he showed them nutmeg – mace and informed the students that their farm was the largest producer of nutmeg in Goa. He then moved on to vanilla and spoke about a diversified portfolio for investments through vanilla, which is highly labour-intensive in production. He informed students of three types of vanilla trees being planted – female, male, and bisexual trees. In circumstances when there is no male or female produce, bisexual trees become a backup plan. He also spoke elaborately on spices like bay leaf, cinnamon, chillies, pepper (black and white), cocoa beans, cardamom, turmeric, etc., which are all grown plentifully on the farm and also stressed from where each of the spices originated and the demand of each of them in the market. He went on to explain certain ways of doing organic farming, wherein they depend on the droppings of the earthworm, and natural farming from the waste of trees which act as fertilizers as they provide favourable conditions for earthworms. He further enlightened the students on four signs of a farm being organic i) white fungus growing on trees – a sign of 100% oxygen, ii) green moss, iii) butterflies, and iv) growth of ferns. Lastly, he displayed and elaborated on the task of beekeeping.
The specialty of Tanshikar’s organic farm is the variety of genuine spices grown on 25 acres of land over the last 20 years. In 2016, Tanshikar Spice Farm received the Best Organic Farmer Award from the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi through Shri Shri Agri Institute. Mr. Tanshikar’s dedication to his farm is commendable and the knowledge shared with the students made the field trip worthwhile. On the whole, the visit to the spice farm was fulfilling and enriching
A total of 72 students attended the field trip.
