Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday said the state government is committed to doubling farmers' income through a series of welfare initiatives, including procurement of paddy at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), distribution of modern agricultural machinery and easy access to institutional credit through Kisan Credit Cards.
After inaugurating the paddy procurement programme under the MSP scheme at the Kakraban Higher Secondary School ground in Gomati district, Saha said India is predominantly an agriculture-based country, and both the Central and state governments are working in a coordinated manner to strengthen the farm sector and improve the socio-economic conditions of farmers.
The Chief Minister said that since assuming office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched several landmark initiatives for agricultural development and the welfare of farmers. He added that flagship schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi and PM-KUSUM have been introduced to provide financial security and support to the farming community.
The Tripura government is making sustained efforts to ensure that the benefits of these schemes reach every eligible farmer across the state. Saha said that in the past, there was no comprehensive strategy for the financial development of farmers, resulting in declining interest in agriculture among many cultivators.
Today, the state government is providing a wide range of incentives to encourage farming activities. As a result, many farmers have started bringing fallow land back under cultivation and are returning to agriculture.
To double farmers' income, the government has been procuring paddy from farmers under the MSP scheme since 2018 (after the BJP government came to power). He informed that so far, 2,61,269 metric tonnes of paddy have been procured, resulting in the direct transfer of Rs 520 crore to farmers' bank accounts.
Altogether, 1,35,166 farmers have benefited from the initiative. Highlighting the impact of various Central and state-sponsored agricultural schemes, the Chief Minister said that under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, a total of Rs 969.97 crore has been directly transferred to the bank accounts of farmers in Tripura.
He also said that farmers who suffered crop losses have received compensation totalling Rs 10.63 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, providing financial relief in adverse situations. Saha further informed that more than 4.57 lakh farmers have benefited under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme, enabling them to access institutional credit at affordable rates for agricultural activities.
He added that over 2.53 lakh farmers have been issued Soil Health Cards, helping them adopt scientific farming practices by understanding their land's nutrient status and applying fertilisers more efficiently. The Chief Minister said the state government is also supplying modern agricultural machinery and equipment to farmers at subsidised rates to promote mechanised farming, reduce cultivation costs and improve agricultural productivity.
Reiterating the government's commitment to the farming community, Saha said agriculture continues to be one of the key pillars of Tripura's economy, and sustained efforts are being made to make farming more profitable, productive and sustainable. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, MLA Abhishek Debroy, senior government officials and a large number of farmers attended the programme.