20k hectares of land is under organic farming in the state: Agriculture Minister

At present, aromatic rice along with pineapple, pepper, turmeric and green chilli are being grown organically in the state. 20 thousand hectares of land is under organic farming in the state. 19,900 farmers in the state are involved in organic farming. Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath said this at the press conference after inaugurating the sale centre of NERAMAC organic crop in the premises of Horticulture and Soil Conservation Office today.

In this outlet of NERAMAC, various crops and products produced organically in the state will be available. Various products produced by self-help groups and self- entrepreneurs will also be available in this outlet along with products produced through natural means, said the Agriculture Minister.

At present, the state has such outlets of NERAMAC at Agartala Integrated Land Port, Sadar Sub-Divisional Magistrate's Office and Secretariat. NERAMAC outlets will also be opened at Agartala Railway Station, Sabroom Integrated Land Port and Srimantapur Integrated Land Port.

Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department Apoorba Roy, Director of Horticulture and Soil Conservation Department Dr. Phani Bhushan Jamatia and MD of NERAMAC Rajeev Ashok and others were present in the opening programme.

In the press conference, Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that various products available in the outlet will be sold in various wards of the city area in a mobile vehicle approved by NERAMAC. This mobile vehicle was also formally inaugurated by waving the flag.

The Agriculture Minister said that 32 metric tons of processed maize from the state will be sent to Maharashtra through a private agency. In the first phase, 16 metric tons of maize will be sent tomorrow. He also said in the press conference that India ranks fourth in the world in terms of organic farming area. India ranks after Australia, Argentina and Spain.

According to a survey of 2021, 23 lakh hectares of land in the country is under organic farming. Sikkim has been declared as 100 percent organic state among the North-Eastern states. There are service providers like - AIKOA, Sheel Biotech and SIMFED in the state to support organic farming. So far 26 metric tons of aromatic rice, 62 metric tons of ginger, 14 metric tons of turmeric, 149 metric tons of pineapple has been marketed in the state in the financial year 2022-23 and 2023-24 under organic farming About 50 thousand metric tons of pineapples have been produced organically on 5 thousand 86 hectares of land in the state.

In the press conference, the Agriculture Minister informed that Queen Variety of pineapple produced in the state got GI tag. Efforts are being made to get GI tags for aromatic lemon, jackfruit and sabri banana in coming days. At present, the interest of farmers towards organic farming is increasing in the state.