BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 31st January 2024 : Ratan Lal Nath, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, emphasized the imperative of political consensus and cooperation for the state’s development and self-reliance.
He said this at a vegetable exhibition camp organized by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare at Bharat Sardar Higher Secondary School ground on Wednesday.
Nath affirmed the state government’s dedication to enhancing agricultural land and farmers’ productivity, with the ultimate goal of achieving self-sufficiency in food grain production in Tripura.
He said that 12 blocks, including Tulashikhar, Damcherra, Dasda, Raishyabari, Mungiakami, Dumboornagar, Rupaichari, Shilachari, Ganganagar, Ampi, Chawmanu, have been identified for integrated development, where various departments such as education, health, agriculture, electricity, ARD, and fisheries will collaborate to prioritize holistic progress.
Providing insights into the agricultural scenario in the Tulasikhar Agricultural Sub-division, where the camp was conducted, Nath shared statistics. Out of the total 1 lakh 43 thousand 281 kani land in the sub-division, 68,881 kani is designated as forest land, leaving only 35,788 kani as cultivable land.
He highlighted that among the 5,823 farmers in the sub-division, 3,200 have received government-issued land pattas. Nath urged farmers to capitalize on the 35,000 kani of cultivable land and leverage government schemes and subsidies to enhance their income and self-reliance.
The minister also underscored the state government’s achievements in augmenting the production rate of food grains per hectare over the past five years. Citing an example, he noted that in 2018, the production rate in Khowai district was 2,665 kg per hectare, a figure that rose to 2,949 kg in 2023. Nath expressed the government’s commitment to further increase production rates, positioning Tripura among the leading states in agriculture.
