At present, aromatic rice along with pineapple, pepper, turmeric, and green chili are being grown organically in the state. 20 thousand hectares of land are 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 center of NERAMAC organic crop, in the premises of the Horticulture and Soil Conservation Office on Friday.

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

Presently, Tripura has such outlets as 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.

In the press conference, Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that various products available in the outlet will be sold in different 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 are under organic farming. Sikkim has been declared a 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, and 149 metric tons of pineapple have 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.

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