Agartala: The Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Department has started cultivating exotic fruits like mangosteen, rambutan, and avocado to boost the income of farmers in the state.
This was informed by Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath.
Today the Minister said that if such fruits can be produced successfully at the Nagicherra Horticulture Research Centre, then they can be cultivated across Tripura.
“You can see the production by watching the tree. Mangosteen is very costly, along with avocado which is good for sugar patients. These fruits were not cultivated here earlier, but now we have started. We have planted a new variety of fruit tree named mangosteen. One of our officials went to Karnataka and brought two saplings, which were planted here. We are also planning to start cultivation of kiwi, blueberry, and blackberry. We also started cultivating Rambutan which is already available in red and yellow varieties as seasonal fruits. At first, we started cultivating these fruits at the Nagicherra Research Centre to check whether they suit our environment and weather. If suitable, only then will we encourage our farmers to cultivate them for their benefit,” said the minister.
He also informed that 46 hectares of land are currently being used for avocado cultivation in the state.
The Agriculture Minister further said that in Tripura, a total of 23,746 farmers cultivate potatoes on 7,622 hectares of land.
“Potato have huge demand in the state as well as in other states. Earlier, our farmers used to purchase seeds from Maharajganj Bazar in Agartala, West Bengal, and Punjab. Another source was True Potato Seed from the Nagicherra Research Centre, which is very costly. We have now introduced a new process through ARC, which started in 2023–24 on 36 kani of land. Potatoes cultivated there were distributed to farmers. In 2024–25, we provided seeds to 410 farmers for 128 kani of land, and this year we will provide seeds for 2,087 kani of land, with 250 kani earmarked for organic potato cultivation. Our target is to become self-reliant in potato seed production by 2028–29,” the minister said.
He also informed that 40 battery-run spray machines have been provided to betel nut farmers in Jampui Hills after their plantations were affected, along with supply of pesticides and other necessary items.
