Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Monday announced that the department has set a target to cultivate hybrid rice in 25,000 hectares and fragrant rice in 500 hectares across the state.
Additionally, new orchards will be developed over 1,300 hectares as part of the government’s Kharif 2025 action plan.
The announcement was made during a one-day review meeting held at the State Agricultural Research Center in Arundhatinagar, organized by the Department of Agriculture and Horticulture.
The meeting focused on various programs and initiatives planned for the upcoming Kharif season.
The session was chaired by Minister Ratan Lal Nath, with Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department Secretary Apurba Roy, along with Sabhadhipatis, Saha Sabhadhipatis, Presidents of District Council Agriculture Standing Committees, Directors, Deputy Directors, and senior officials of the Agriculture and Horticulture Departments in attendance.
Speaking at the event, Minister Nath said the primary aim of the meeting was to assess the state’s potential in agriculture and horticulture and plan for a self-reliant future by boosting crop production and productivity.
He said that under the Chief Minister’s Integrated Crop Management Program (MICMP), high-yielding varieties of rice will be cultivated across 47,946 hectares, with farmers receiving assistance of Rs 5,650 per hectare. In addition, hybrid rice cultivation will cover 25,000 hectares, where farmers will receive Rs 9,000 per hectare. The goal is to increase yield by at least two metric tons per hectare through the adoption of modern, science-based agricultural practices.
The minister also outlined several other initiatives, including fragrant rice cultivation over 500 hectares, Mashkalai cultivation in 1,000 hectares and demonstration cultivation of almonds in 500 hectares.
“Under the RAD (Rural Agricultural Development) project, the department plans to distribute 225 units of piggery, poultry, and fish seedlings. Work has also begun on developing 52 rural markets. Farmers will receive various agricultural equipment at subsidized rates, including 45,000 soil health cards, ,550 power tillers, 1,000 pump sets, 5,000 sprayers and 3,000 hoeing machines. Additionally, Rs 10 lakh worth of agricultural machinery will be distributed for the formation of 100 farm machinery banks”, said minister.
The minister said that in horticulture, the department has set the following targets for the current fiscal year new orchards across 1,300 hectares, flower cultivation in 457 hectares, spice cultivation in 180 hectares, renovation of old orchards in 600 hectares and Palm oil plantation in over 7,000 hectares.
Minister Nath said that over 7 lakh palm oil seedlings have already been prepared in nurseries across the state. A total of 4,000 farmers will receive Rs 3,000 each for potato cultivation under the ARC system during the upcoming Rabi season. Furthermore, pineapple will be cultivated using a staggered system across 2,000 hectares.
As part of the Urban Horticulture Project, the department aims to distribute four coconut seedlings to each of 5,000 urban households.
The minister also instructed officials and public representatives to expedite the selection of beneficiaries so that Kharif season seeds can be distributed to farmers by June 30.
For the first time, the state government will provide subsidies to encourage betel leaf cultivation.
Highlighting the achievements of the recently concluded Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, Minister Nath called on everyone to adopt advanced agricultural technologies and work collectively to achieve the vision of “Ek Tripura, Shreshtha Tripura.”