Agartala: Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath today said that the central government has authorized the state to certify paddy seeds for neighboring states Mizoram and Manipur.
The Minister said that if the Tripura Agriculture Department gives certification to the paddy of Manipur and Mizoram, then their paddy will be truly certified.
He was speaking after unveiling the statue of Dr. M. S. Swaminathan at the State Agriculture Research Station premises at AD Nagar.
“Though late, I want to convey my thanks to the Research Centre for installing the statue of Dr. Swaminathan. It is due to him that agriculture got a good shape in the country. He worked to make our country self-sufficient in food grains. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that by 2030, 72% of edible oil must be produced within the country. So, the government is giving stress on edible oil production. Because we don’t need to import fish or milk, but we do need to import edible oil. That is why we are stressing on producing edible oil,” said the Minister.
The Agriculture Minister said that Dr. Swaminathan always emphasized that if agriculture fails, nothing else can be developed.
“If we can’t make a good budget for agriculture, then all other budgets will fail,” he added.
He also said that the department is working to strengthen agriculture through Integrated Cultivation.
“Our country exports fish, eggs, rice, milk, sugar, and spices to foreign countries. At AD Nagar, research is conducted on paddy, while at Nagicherra, research is carried out on all horticulture items. We have two research centres. I want to tell all the farmers to get in touch with the agriculture centres in the state so that we can work on modern agriculture. Prime Minister Narendra Modi followed the path shown by Dr. Swaminathan, and because of that, India is second in paddy production and we also export it. Credit goes to the farmers,” said the Minister.
He informed that in the state, among 58 blocks, 31 blocks are self-sufficient in food grain cultivation. Chandipur RD Block has been newly added to the list of self-sufficient food grain producing areas.
“We want the same in all districts and sub-divisions for self-sufficiency in agriculture and allied sectors,” said the Minister.
