Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath has requested additional central funding for farmer-centric projects and emphasized the importance of large-scale hybrid paddy cultivation in the state. During a financial review meeting of centrally sponsored schemes, Nath urged support for hybrid paddy cultivation on over 30,000 hectares in the upcoming financial year, highlighting the significance of paddy cultivation for food security in Tripura. The Union Agriculture Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chaired the meeting and commended Tripura’s financial discipline and expenditure trends.
Nath informed that Tripura has utilized a significant portion of funds allocated under various schemes, including 79% under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) Umbrella Scheme, 61% under the Krishi Utpada Yojana Umbrella Scheme, and 61% under the Natural Farming project. He expressed the state’s commitment to fully utilizing the funds in the current financial year and called for additional funding to enhance farmer welfare initiatives. Nath also highlighted the state’s focus on agricultural mechanization and requested an extra Rs 20 crore under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM).
Emphasizing that most farmers in Tripura are small and marginal, Nath urged for a revision of cost norms under various schemes to better support paddy cultivation and related activities. The Union Agriculture Minister acknowledged the demands and assured prompt action to sanction the necessary funds. The meeting was attended by senior officials including Secretary Apurba Roy and Director Phanibhushan Jamatia.
