Agartala, Oct 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream is to establish India as the world’s grain storage hub in the agricultural sector, and the state’s Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department is working tirelessly to increase farmers’ incomes and make the state self-sufficient in food grain production.

This was stated by Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath today.

Today, the Agriculture Minister inaugurated a two-storey rural market built at a cost of Rs 4 crore 51 lakh at Gajaria Market in South Tripura district and opened
 it to farmers and traders.

He said that work has already been undertaken on 204 markets to develop the infrastructure of 554 agricultural markets in the state, of which 87 projects have been completed and 117 are underway.

Minister said I hope that through this initiative, farmers and traders will benefit from improved infrastructure, and the buying and selling of agricultural products will become easier.

The Minister said that agriculture is the mainstay of India’s economy, and without the development of agriculture, the overall development of the country remains incomplete.

“We want to make the state self-reliant. In our state, about 70 percent of the people are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Therefore, achieving self-reliance in agriculture means taking the state forward on the path of self-reliance. To make our state self-reliant, the development of agricultural infrastructure is essential,” he said.

He further informed that the state government’s Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department primarily undertakes various schemes based on specific proposals for the development of primary rural markets and regulated agricultural markets.

He informed that there are currently 554 agricultural markets in the state. These include 84 primary wholesale markets, of which 21 are agricultural produce markets, and 470 primary or rural markets.

Agriculture minister said that a total of 204 market development projects have been undertaken in the state over the eight years from 2018-19 to 2026-27, with a total allocation of Rs 461 crore 83 lakh 2 thousand. 

The development of 58 more markets is being planned for the financial year 2026-27. It is worth noting that during the five-year period from 2013 to 2017, a total of 71 market infrastructure development projects were undertaken, for which an amount of only Rs 20 crore 26 lakh 86 thousand 924 was allocated. 

This market will play a supportive role in the buying and selling of local farmers’ produce and is expected to play a significant role in making the state self-reliant by increasing farmers’ incomes.