Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh stressed making every Janajati household self-reliant by giving them one hectare of Agar and one hectare of rubber plantation as well as conducting pepper, turmeric and ginger cultivations in the plantation. He expressed hope that the earning of every beneficiary Janajati family would be around Rs. 3-4 lakh per year.
The Union Minister made the comment while he was inspecting Horticulture Research Complex Nagichhara on Saturday (Aug 27) – the third day of his 3-day Tripura visit.
He also said there are 2.50 lakh cultivable land in Tripura and it is possible to build up Tripura as a Horticulture-based economic hub by utilizing the lands.
During the inspection, Singh ‘Bag Basera’, an exhibition centre at the premises of the Research Complex.
The Horticulture officials including Dr. Rajib Ghosh apprised the Union Minister regarding production of various spice crops.
The Union Minister stressed on black pepper cultivation since this spice crop is considered as black gold. He asked the Agriculture, Horticulture and Rural Development departments along with TRLM and JICA to work together on a mission mode.
“Black pepper cultivation can play an important role in Tripura since the state’s weather is congenial,” he said.
The Union Minister also had interactions with Fella Darlong, a progressive pepper grower from Darchawi village of Tripura. He lauded the initiatives for production of spice crop production in the state.
Meanwhile, the Union Minister also visited Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary. He was briefed about the initiatives in the Agar sector taken by the Forest Department and he launched new Agar based products developed by NTFP Centre of Excellence, Agartala.
He then went to Oxygen Park in Agartala and paid tribute to the martyrs of the forest department who sacrificed their lives for the protection of Tripura forest.