Agartala: Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath today informed that being self-reliant in agriculture means taking the state forward on the path of self-reliance.
The Minister said this while laying the foundation stone of the Tulasikhar Primary Rural Market under the Tulasikhar Agri Sub-Division.
He informed that Rs 160 crore has been sanctioned for the construction of 60 markets across 60 assembly constituencies.
He said that first and foremost, everyone needs food, followed by drinking water, housing, clothing, education, electricity, and then everything else.
“The main foundation of India is agriculture. The dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to bring India under modern, creative, and stable management in the field of agriculture and to establish the country as the grain bank of the world,” said the Minister.
He informed that agriculture is the mainstay of the Indian economy; therefore, the overall development of India is incomplete without the development of agriculture.
“We want to make the state self-reliant. In our state, about 70 percent of the people are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Therefore, being self-reliant in agriculture means taking the state forward on the path of self-reliance. The State’s Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department is working tirelessly to increase the income of farmers and to make them self-sufficient in food crop production,” said the Minister.
The Minister further informed that to make the state self-reliant, the development of agricultural infrastructure is very necessary.
“Keeping this goal in mind, the present state government is working with extensive initiatives to develop the infrastructure of various markets in the state. The State Government’s Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department mainly adopts various plans based on specific proposals for the development of primary rural markets and agriculturally regulated markets,” he said.
The Minister informed that from 2018 till now, a total of 144 market development works have been undertaken with the financial assistance of NABARD under the RIDF project.
“From 2018–19 till now, a total of 144 market development works have been undertaken in the state in these seven and a half years, and the total amount allocated for this is Rs 303 crore 43 lakh 96 thousand. In contrast, during the last seven years of the previous government, only Rs 20 crore was spent for market development,” the Minister informed.
