By Firstdespatch Desk Apr 20, 2023
Agartala, April 20 (FD) Tripura’s horticulture department is preparing Detailed Project Report (DPR) for horti eco-tourism in Tripura, which has a huge demand abroad, agriculture minister Ratan Lal Nath said here today.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to the state-run horticulture research complex at Nagicherra near here Nath said, Horticulture Research Complex at Nagicherra has 44 hectare land dedicated to agricultural and Horticulture research. Set up in 1981, the centre was mandated to research on introduction, acclimatization and evaluation of major plantation crops, establishment of germplasm bank for indigenous and exogenous horticultural crops for future research and production of elite planting materials.
On a different issue, the agriculture and horticulture minister said his department is contemplating starting a host of initiatives to reap the benefits of untapped resources like palm oil, which has to be largely imported from abroad despite having suitable growing conditions in the state.
"We are trying to promote cultivation of red palm oil. We have to import a lot of this oil from abroad, especially from Malaysia. Tripura's soil condition is good for the growth of oil palm and if we can produce largely, companies from abroad would purchase directly from us", the minister said.
While Mizoram has palm oil processing centers in close proximity, agriculture and horticulture minister Nath said his government would also try to set up similar processing units in the state.
Ratan Lal Nath said agriculture is the mainstay of the state's growth and said 43 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is from the agriculture department.
He said 2.55 thousand hectare, which 24 percent of the state's entire landmass, is cultivable land and though the state's production and growth trajectory is good, the overall production is low since cultivable area is less.
"West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh are far behind Tripura in terms of paddy production per hectare", the minister said but added since the overall cultivable land area is less in Tripura, the cumulative production is less.
"We are trying to get maximum production out of less land. Our agriculture experts recently visited Vietnam, which is developed in agriculture technology. They have learnt different approaches from there and we shall try to implement those here", he said.
However, Nath said South Tripura, Gomati, Sepahijala and Unakoti district are self sufficient in food grain production so far.
In his department's approach to achieve self sufficiency in food grain production, the agriculture minister said stress is being laid to boost food grain production in districts where self sufficiency has already been achieved and to boost production in districts which are behind. FD JK