Tripura develops ‘farm to fork’ ecosystem to promote organic farming

Agartala: Tripura is developing a comprehensive “farm to fork” ecosystem aimed at supporting organic farming through improved production, processing, and marketing infrastructure, Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the state’s first buyer-seller meet for organic produce, Nath said the government’s objective is to provide institutional support to organic farmers to ensure better market access. “We are working to establish an automated value chain—from the field to the consumer’s table,” he said.

The state has received organic certification for over 25,000 hectares of farmland. To support this initiative, 53 organic Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) have been formed, focusing on high-value crops such as Queen pineapple, bird’s eye chilli, black rice, millet, turmeric, ginger, aromatic and sticky rice, and scented lemon.

Among these, the GI-tagged Queen pineapple and sticky rice have gained attention both nationally and internationally.

The Minister highlighted that the Queen variety, known for its natural sweetness with a brix level of 16 to 20, is suited for juice production, while the larger Kew variety is used primarily for industrial processing.

Tripura’s organic products are being supplied to Indian cities including Delhi, Guwahati, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kolkata. Export destinations include Oman, Dubai, and Dhaka.

Providing data from the past three years, Nath stated that Tripura has exported 666 metric tonnes (MT) of pineapple, 574 MT of ginger, 52 MT of turmeric, 33 MT of aromatic rice, and 7 MT of chilli. A government transport subsidy of Rs 5,000 per MT is provided for all fresh produce sent outside the state.