Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath raised several significant demands for the development of agriculture and horticulture and the welfare of farmers in the state. His key demands include incorporating ‘local natural calamities’ into the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) guidelines, providing 45,000 additional Soil Health Cards, and increasing the allocation for the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) project.
He raised these demands while speaking on the second day of the National Agriculture Conference – Rabi Campaign 2026, held in New Delhi. The conference was attended by Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Ministers of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary, and agriculture ministers and officials from various states.
Minister Ratan Lal Nath stated that the state currently has about 16,400 hectares under natural farming, involving approximately 38,000 farmers. He highlighted the success of the MOVCD-NER project, noting that organic products from Tripura are being exported to countries like the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Dubai, and Bangladesh. Given that 96% of Tripura’s farmers are small and marginal, he demanded the expansion of this project to all North-Eastern states.
Addressing crop damage, the Minister pointed out that vast areas of paddy cultivation in Tripura get submerged during heavy rains. He urged the Union Minister to include ‘local natural calamities’ like floods and waterlogging under PMFBY so that affected farmers can claim insurance benefits. He also requested an increase in the grant rate for the MIDH project from 50% to 75% and sought support for high-quality planting materials for exotic fruits like Avocado and Rambutan.
