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[Calaur Enterprises]

To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]       [EMAIL PROTECTED]   sub: Ela Farm   EVE HEADS ELA FARM               The Agri – Horticultural Complex at Ela Farm, Old Goa, has been placed under the control of Ms. Frieda Barreto from early September. Comprising of the Farmers Training Centre, the Zonal Agriculture Office (Tiswadi), the Seed Testing Laboratory, the Soil Testing Laboratory, Mushroom spawn production unit, Floriculture Demonstration unit and the proposed Biological Control unit, Ela Farm is the hub of activity in the Directorate of Agriculture. It is all set to take – off to greater heights under the guidance of Frieda Barreto, the first lady Assistant Director of Agriculture in Goa.             Frieda has many firsts and has dared all to achieve what she has. Her class – mate (and now Associate Professor of Horticulture at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore) Dr. S. Jaganath wrote in the University Alumni publication. “For nearly 30 years in the history of the agriculture college there was no girl student. It was only in 1971 that Frieda broke the monotony of male dominance. She became the first lady graduate of the Agriculture College, Hebbal, in 1975”. No prizes for guessing who was the first lady agriculture  officer in Goa. That she has risen to the level of an Assistant Director in an hitherto male bastion is no mean achievement. She has been an inspiration to other girls to join agriculture courses and storm the male bastions in agriculture colleges and departments in Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Of course, Frieda has not paused to consider all this.             Event organisation is Frieda’s forte. She has been the Linch – pin of “Orna Rosa”, the plant show of the Directorate of Agriculture in the  1990s. If there is a seminar or workshop to be organized, Frieda is your “man”. she will take care of the logistics, the public relations and the arrangements right down to the last pin. When the Minister of State for Agriculture Shripad Naik wanted to introduce Bixa and patchouli (medicinal and aromatic plants), Frieda was allotted the task of promoting the crops. She has also compiled and published pamphlets on flower crop, fruits and spices to guide the farmers. Now, as Asst Director (Farmers Training), she will be one of the largest distributor of this literature. Her training in “Horticultural Crops: Production & Marketing” at Bangkok, Thailand, gives her a world perspective of the issues at hand.             Ela Farm has received a much needed spring cleaning. Unserviceable scrap and other materials that had gathered in the work areas have been shifted to the godown after an inventory for further disposal. The typical accumulation of broken furniture in the toilet / wash basin area of government offices is already history at FTC. The exhibition hall and museum are also receiving attention.             The mushroom spawn (seed) production unit is gearing to step up seed production levels to 500 units or more per month. Zonal Agriculture Officers are already calling in to schedule training programmes in mushroom cultivation. Set up in 1994, the spawn unit is ready for expansion to meet the growing demand of Mushroom growers in Goa. Easy – to – carry pouches are being made instead of the bulky half – litre bottles. Saieesh Gandhi has his hands full. Frieda is goading him to do more.             Farmers training is nothing new to Frieda. She has organized such programmes in Goa and even organized farmers visits to Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. She has even gone with the farmers on some tours to guide them and have a first hand experience of the hectic schedule of visits. With the support of a farmer – friendly Director like the present incumbent, Shri W.M.Khade, there is no reason why a lot should not be expected from Ela Farm. Call 286129, or 286125 and check out what you can gain from the schemes and training courses at Ela.     Miguel Braganza.         CALAUR ENTERPRISES G-5, Joslyn Apts.,Rajwaddo, Mapusa, Bardez - Goa - India. Ph. 0091 832 264793 Mobile:9823 133 692 Crash Courses in Computers,E-mails (Incoming/Outgoing) Xeroxing, Data Processing, Courier(Domestic/International) E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]