Agartala, October 11 (Daily Kiran) : The Tripura government is prioritizing the agriculture and horticulture sectors to increase farmers’ incomes and achieve self-sufficiency in food and horticultural crops. State Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath made this announcement on Sunday.
He revealed that between 2018-19 and 2025-26, projects worth ₹461.83 crore have been initiated for the development of infrastructure in 204 agricultural markets across the state. Of these, 87 projects have been completed, while work is ongoing on 117 others.
During the inauguration of various projects in Kalyanpur and Khowai, Nath also laid the foundation for new initiatives. He opened the office of the Deputy Director of Agriculture, Horticulture, and Soil Conservation in Khowai district and inaugurated a two-story rural market at Brindavan Ghat, dedicated to farmers and traders.
Currently, Tripura has 554 agricultural markets. The government is enhancing facilities in these markets, including sheds, shops, toilets, drinking water, and drainage systems, to improve their functionality. The aim is to provide better selling conditions for farmers and ensure they receive fair prices for their produce.
Nath noted that between 2013 and 2017, 71 market development projects were initiated at a cost of ₹20.26 crore. From 2018-19 to 2025-26, the investment for 204 projects has significantly increased to ₹461.83 crore.
He highlighted that there is now a Deputy Director of Agriculture and Horticulture in every district. To ensure farmers benefit from both central and state schemes, the government has decided to establish agricultural sub-divisional offices in each block.
As of now, there are 47 agricultural sub-divisional offices and 9 horticulture and soil conservation sub-divisional offices operational in Tripura. The government has also initiated the process of issuing unique Farmer IDs to every farmer, facilitating access to various welfare schemes and benefits.
In terms of natural farming, Nath mentioned that currently, 5,550 hectares of land are under natural farming, benefiting 13,875 farmers. An additional 11,250 hectares will be included in natural farming by the financial year 2026-27.
Since 2020-21, organic produce worth ₹17.2 crore has been sold in various Indian states and abroad. To promote agricultural mechanization, the government has distributed 50,300 agricultural machines across the state over the past eight years, providing subsidies totaling ₹233.63 crore. In contrast, only 2,600 agricultural machines were distributed between 2013 and 2017, with subsidies of ₹28.35 crore.
Leave a Comment