Agartala, 3rd June 2026: Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath today said that the state government would undertake a series of steps to boost grape cultivation in the state, including conducting trials on 18 more grape varieties, carrying out research, developing technology, and providing all kinds of training to farmers.
The Minister informed this while addressing a field day-cum-awareness programme on commercial grape cultivation and the launch of NABARD-funded projects at Chandipur in Unakoti.
The Minister today visited an orchard where sweet grapes were cultivated for the first time and also distributed power agricultural equipment among the farmers. Later, the Minister said that the productivity rate of grapes in India is 24 metric tons.
He said that scientists in Tripura have conducted a series of research studies. “After a series of research studies, they have cultivated four varieties, including two wine varieties. We will see how we can help grape farmers, and proper training will be given to them on how to cultivate grapes properly. After two decades, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Unakoti, resumed research and development work on grape cultivation in 2024. Preliminary success has already been achieved in terms of sweetness, yield, and fruit quality,” said the Agriculture Minister.
The Minister informed that in September 2024, six grape varieties were brought to Tripura from the ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes and planted. “This team of scientists is working very diligently to standardize the methods of grape cultivation suitable for non-traditional grape-growing regions like Tripura,” said the Minister.
The Minister informed that the major problems of grape cultivation in Tripura are insufficient sweetness in grapes, inadequate suitability of the introduced varieties, excess rainfall, high humidity, non-availability of necessary agrochemicals for grape cultivation, and a lack of adequate knowledge about grape cultivation.
The Minister said that to further boost grape cultivation, some special treatments have been adopted to increase the sweetness of grapes, which include nutrient management and growth regulator treatment.
“Future action plans include providing recommendations to the Tripura government regarding grape cultivation, conducting trials on 18 more grape varieties, carrying out research, developing technology, and making corrections as needed; organizing intensive training on grape cultivation for Tripura farmers; developing grape cultivation clusters; establishing vineyards; providing all necessary inputs and technical support to farmers; providing training on grape juice and RTS (Ready-to-Serve) preparation; providing training on post-harvest handling of grapes; and establishing cluster-based small juice processing units,” he said.
During the event, Minister Tinku Roy, officials from the Directorate of Horticulture, and others were present.
