ICAR Tripura Centre Concludes Seven-Day Agri-Aqua Training to Boost Productivity on Under-Cropped Lands
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, November 15, 2025
The ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Tripura Centre has successfully completed a seven-day intensive training programme titled, 'Agri-Aqua Interventions for Productivity Enhancement from Under-Cropped Land', held from 10 November 2025 under the DST-supported STI Hub operational at the Centre. The programme was conducted as part of the DST project Multilayered Agriculture Strategies for Income and Nutritional Security for Cash Crop Plantation Workers in Lefunga Block, West Tripura District.
Organised in collaboration with NABARD Tripura, ICAR-CIFE Kolkata Centre, ICAR-NRCO Sikkim, and ICAR-DGR Junagadh, the training was held under the mentorship of Dr BU Choudhury, Head of ICAR Tripura Centre. A total of 112 farmers from seven villages participated in the programme, receiving hands-on exposure to modern agricultural and aquaculture strategies designed to utilise difficult terrains such as waterlogged wastelands, rubber plantation alley areas, water-deficit mid-hill plots, and small or shallow aquaculture ponds.
The input and certificate distribution ceremony was held on 14 November 2025 at Sachindra Debbarma Memorial Hall, Lefunga. During the event, ICAR-CIFE Kolkata Centre distributed essential inputs including magur fish seeds, water quality testing kits, and training certificates under the NEH component.
Farmers also received a range of critical agricultural inputs from ICAR Tripura Centre, including fish feed, lime, black pepper planting materials, paddy seeds, groundnut seeds, and watering cans, provided through various schemes including AICRP-Rice.
Addressing the gathering, Dr BU Choudhury, HoRC, elaborated on the vision, objectives, and long-term goals of the DST STI Hub operating in Lefunga. The programme's chief guest, Shri Ranabir Debbarma, Chairman of Lefunga Block Panchayat Samiti, inaugurated the function and highlighted the importance of scientific intervention for uplifting the tribal farming community.
Senior officials including Dr. Santosh Das, Director, State Fisheries Department; Dr. Anjan Sengupta, Joint Director, DBT Tripura, and Dr. Narendra Reang, BDO, Lefunga Block, assured full support to farmers in their scientific farming initiatives.
The event was attended by scientists from ICAR Tripura Centre, Dr. Rekha Das, Dr. Kouberi Nath, Dr. Pradip Kumar Sarkar, Dr. Bapi Das, and Dr. Rahul Kumar—along with Dr. Sujata Sahoo and Dr. Dhalongsaih Reang from ICAR-CIFE Kolkata.
The programme coordinators will continue to monitor the progress of beneficiary farmers and provide hand-holding support in the coming years. The final day of the training, at Lefunga, focuses on hands-on training in orchid cultivation, propagation, and value addition, conducted in collaboration with ICAR-NRCO Sikkim under the guidance of Dr SP Das, Director, ICAR-NRCO, Sikkim.
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