In a bid to promote plantation of oil palm across the state of Tripura and enable the farmers become economically self-sufficient, the state agriculture minister Ratan Lal Nath on Friday launched a mega oil palm plantation drive at Shantinagar village in Belbari block of Jirania subdivision.
“Farmers of this state will be largely benefitted from the oil palm plantation and it has huge demand, having hefty business possibilities,” Nath said. He said that the government has taken various initiatives to make the farmers economically self-reliant by utilizing the vacant land in the hilly terrains of the state.
He said, “Government is ready to help the farmers with a financial assistance of Rs. 1 lakh for four years, while they grow oil palm commercially.” The programme is organized under the initiative of Department of Horticulture and Land Conservation and in collaboration with Patanjali Limited.
“Today we planted oil palm saplings in the land of a Janjati farmer Roshan Debbarma at Shantinagar in Belbari block of Jirania subdivision. One day, palm oil will be made from these seedlings,” he said, adding that in this initiative, Patanjali Food Limited and Godrej Agro Limited have come forward in providing saplings, technical assistance, and procurement of oil palm to the State Department of Agriculture.
He said, “I believe, oil palm cultivation will usher in a new direction in the economic prosperity of the farmers of the state.”
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