Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath has urged the Centre to establish a Central Agricultural University in the state and introduce railway-based support for transporting perishable farm produce. During a meeting with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on May 9, Nath proposed integrating Tripura’s College of Agriculture and College of Veterinary Science to form the university, aiming to boost agricultural education, research, and consultancy.
Nath highlighted challenges faced by Tripura’s farmers, including labour shortages affecting paddy cultivation and flood-related crop losses, particularly during the August 2024 floods which damaged most farm machinery distributed in recent years. To aid marketing of produce, Nath requested the Centre to extend the Dharmanagar Railway Station halt of Delhi-bound express trains from 2 to 5 minutes to ease loading operations. He also urged the introduction of refrigerated compartments in trains for safe transport of perishables like pineapple and jackfruit.
The minister further sought a policy revision under PMFBY, noting that “inundation” is no longer considered a localized peril, leaving many flood-affected farmers ineligible for compensation.
