Agartala, Sept 29: Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath has raised a series of demands before the Centre, including expanding crop insurance coverage to cover localised natural calamities, issuing 45,000 additional Soil Health Cards and increasing allocations under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).
Nath raised the demands while speaking on the second day of the National Agriculture Conference–Rabi Abhiyan 2026 in New Delhi.
The conference was attended by Union Agriculture, Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ministers of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary, agriculture ministers from various states, Agriculture Secretary Atish Chandra, senior Central government officials and representatives from different states.
Earlier, Nath joined Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in a tree plantation programme held as part of the conference.
During his address, Nath said the Centre had allocated funds to Tripura in accordance with the state’s action plan during the current year and had played an important role in supporting farmers.
Highlighting the state’s agricultural activities, he said that during the last rabi season, hybrid paddy was cultivated on 25,000 hectares, rabi pulses on 9,500 hectares and rabi oilseeds on 9,700 hectares.
He said that under the Chief Minister’s Integrated Crop Management Programme, cultivation during the current kharif season covered 37,500 hectares. This included 27,500 hectares of hybrid paddy, 2,000 hectares of aromatic rice, 15,000 hectares of pulses, 8,000 hectares of oilseeds and 1,000 hectares of summer vegetables.
Nath also said work was underway in Tripura to implement the Farmer’s Registry, Digital Crop Survey and the national framework for fertiliser sales.
Push for expansion of natural farming
The Agriculture Minister said natural farming was currently being practised across around 16,400 hectares in Tripura, involving nearly 38,000 farmers.
Based on the experience of the past two years, he said bio-formulations had emerged as an important component not only of natural farming but also of demonstrations undertaken under various schemes. He called for greater support to Bio-Input Resource Centres (BRCs) in marketing, packaging and branding, besides proposing the formation of a Natural Seed Growers’ Consortium.
Nath said the Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCD-NER) had been implemented successfully in Tripura, with significant quantities of organic agricultural produce from the state being exported to markets including the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Dubai and Bangladesh.
Pointing out that around 96 per cent of farmers in Tripura are small and marginal farmers, he urged the Centre to expand the project across all northeastern states.
He also sought higher allocations under the Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) and the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme to strengthen farm mechanisation and irrigation infrastructure.
Calls for crop insurance cover during localised disasters
Nath said large areas under paddy cultivation in Tripura are often inundated during periods of heavy rainfall, resulting in substantial crop losses.
However, he pointed out that farmers affected by such incidents do not always receive the benefit of crop insurance.
Seeking intervention from the Union Agriculture Minister, Nath called for the inclusion of “localised natural calamities” in the guidelines of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). He said such an amendment would help bring crop losses caused by localised events such as flooding and waterlogging within the insurance safety net.
He also sought the issuance of another 45,000 Soil Health Cards for farmers in the state.
Higher MIDH allocation sought
Nath called for increasing the minimum allocation for the Area Expansion Programme under the annual action plan of MIDH from the existing 20 per cent to 35 per cent.
He said Tripura had considerable potential for cultivating exotic fruits such as avocado and rambutan, but the shortage of quality planting material and saplings was preventing the state from fully tapping the opportunity.
He urged the Centre to undertake research initiatives to facilitate faster expansion of such crops at the grassroots level and encourage designated stations and recognised nurseries to produce and supply quality planting material.
The minister further pointed out that the Tripura government has to contribute up to 50 per cent of the expenditure for approved Centre of Excellence projects under MIDH. He therefore sought an increase in the MIDH subsidy rate to 75 per cent.
Similarly, Nath called for increasing the share provided from the reserve fund under the Post Harvest Management component from 50 per cent to 75 per cent to attract greater private-sector participation in the sector.