The state agriculture minister along with the food and civil supplies minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Saturday officially launched paddy procurement in Jolaibari.

Aiming to enhance the livelihood of the farmers of the state, the Tripura government has decided to procure at least 15000 MT of paddy this season.

Addressing the inaugural programme, the minister Ratan Lal Nath said that moving in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Tripura government is working to double up the income of farmers of the state through procurement of paddy directly from them.

“Agriculture is one of the sectors with the most employment opportunities,” he said, adding that there is a need to enhance the livelihood of the people and develop infrastructure in rural areas so as to grow the country’s economy.

He said, “Projects like Kisan Sammannidhi Yojana, purchase of paddy at subsidized price, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, soil testing are playing a supporting role in the development of the economy of the country and the state and also in the welfare of farmers.”

On the occasion, Food Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said that since the establishment of the current government in the state in 2018, the initiative to purchase paddy from farmers twice a year during Kharif and Rabi seasons was started. Since 2018, a total of 1,92,052 MT of paddy has been purchased from farmers in the state. The state government has spent about Rs. 372 crore, he told reporters, he added.

Paddy will be procured from the farmers in 31 blocks of paddy procurement centers in 6 districts of the state including West, Sepahijala, Khowai, Dhalai, South and Gomati district.

The state cooperative minister Sukla Charan Noatia, District Magistrate of South Tripura district Dr Siddharth Shib Jaiswal, Additional Sabhadipati of South Tripura district Zilla Parishad Bibhishan Das and others were present in the programme.