Agartala: Feb 07: Tripura’s Agriculture Minister, Ratan Lal Nath, expressed optimism over the marketing of organically produced Kalikhsa, Harinarayan, and black rice, valued at ₹3,30,000. He highlighted that this initiative would greatly benefit the state’s farmers. The marketing event today showcased the first sale of these traditionally grown crops, facilitated by the collaboration between the State Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and National Co-operative Organics Limited (NCOL), New Delhi. An agreement was signed last month between the two entities, paving the way for this milestone.
Minister Nath also spoke about the central government’s “Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region” project, launched in 2015-16, which has been implemented in Tripura since the 2016-17 financial year. This project is aimed at promoting organic farming across the region, tapping into the vast potential of organic agriculture. This year, the initiative is expanding to cover an additional 6,500 hectares, and 13 new Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) are being formed to further support organic farming efforts.
Additionally, five service providers— Iqua, Sheel Biotech, Simfed, Biosert International, and Prakriti Organic— have been appointed to assist farmers with organic practices. Nath revealed that various crops such as aromatic rice, pineapple, black pepper, ginger, turmeric, chili, millet, and black rice are being cultivated through organic methods in the state.
The state has already seen considerable success in organic farming, with 37 metric tons of aromatic rice, 13 metric tons of ginger, 31 metric tons of turmeric, 362 metric tons of pineapple, and 2000 kg of Birds Ar Chili sold both within and outside the state. Additionally, on January 17, 2025, 2000 kg of Dhanna Marich from Gomati, South, and Dhalai districts was marketed, valued at ₹11 lakh. Today’s sale of 1000 kg each of Kalikhsa, Harinarayan, and black rice marks a significant achievement in Tripura’s organic farming sector.
