Agartala, Feb 24 (IANS) Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Tuesday sought additional central funding for various farmer-centric projects and strongly pitched for large-scale hybrid paddy cultivation in the state.

The Minister made the demands during a financial review meeting of centrally sponsored schemes of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, held via video conference under the chairmanship of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Nath requested facilitation for hybrid paddy cultivation over 30,000 hectares under the RKVY-DPR project in the 2026–27 financial year, stressing that paddy is cultivated on around 50 per cent of Tripura’s agricultural land and remains crucial for food security.

The Union Minister reviewed the progress of projects with 18 states, including Tripura, and expressed satisfaction with the state’s financial discipline and expenditure trends.

During the meeting, Nath informed that Tripura has utilised 79 per cent of funds received under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) Umbrella Scheme, 61 per cent under the Krishi Utpada Yojana Umbrella Scheme, and 61 per cent under the Natural Farming project.

He said the state aims to fully utilise the allocations in the current financial year and sought additional funds to expand farmer welfare initiatives.

“Our state is among the top five in the country in terms of expenditure,” the Minister said.

Highlighting the government’s focus on agricultural mechanisation, Nath requested an additional Rs 20 crore under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM).

He also informed that the process of issuing Farm IDs is underway and sought facilitation for issuing IDs to over 1.25 lakh tribal farmers who are RoFR patta holders.

Noting that nearly 96 per cent of farmers in the state are small and marginal, Nath urged an upward revision of cost norms under schemes such as RKVY, the National Food Security Mission, and the National Mission on Oil Palm to better support paddy cultivation and allied activities.

The Union Agriculture Minister accepted the validity of the demands and assured that necessary steps would be taken to sanction funds at the earliest. Secretary of the department Apurba Roy, Director Phanibhushan Jamatia, and other senior officials attended the meeting.

–IANS

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