Tripura to cultivate fragrant rice, almonds on 1,000 hectares under new agri push

Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Monday announced that the department has set a target to cultivate fragrant rice in 500 hectares and undertake demonstration cultivation of almonds in another 500 hectares.

The announcement was made during a one-day review meeting held at the State Agricultural Research Center in Arundhatinagar, organised by the Department of Agriculture and Horticulture. 

The meeting focused on various programs and initiatives planned for the upcoming Kharif season.

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.

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.