Tripura has witnessed a massive increase in flower production over the past seven years and has taken several steps to boost flower cultivation in the state.

Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath informed this today after he inaugurated the Vivekananda Flower Garden at Mohanpur in West Tripura.

The Minister said that flowers are used everywhere. 

“If you want to greet someone, flowers are needed; during religious programmes, flowers are needed; in social and cultural events, flowers are needed everywhere. In our state, the soil is fertile and we receive massive rainfall,” he said.

“Tripura’s weather and soil are very helpful for flower cultivation. Earlier, people used to see flowers only as beautiful items, but now people are earning lakhs of rupees by cultivating flowers. People like Sentu Bhowmik of Barjala, who earns Rs 8 lakh; Pradip Sarkar of Kanchanmala, who earns Rs 12 lakh; Jayanta Dey of Chandibari; Indrajit Debnath of Baikhora, who earns Rs 8 to 9 lakh; and many others are involved. Flower cultivation is also helping people earn their livelihood, especially farmers. Earlier, marigold, rose, rajanigandha, etc. were cultivated in open fields,” said the Minister.

The Minister informed that before 2018, flowers were cultivated on 2,738 kani of land in Tripura, but over the last seven years, the cultivated area has increased to 11,720 kani.

“Earlier, 2,190 farmers were engaged, but now 59,100 farmers are involved. Earlier, production was 1,117 MT, but now it has increased to 2,704 MT. Before 2018, only 35 percent of flowers were produced within the state, but now 89 percent is our own production and only 21 percent is imported from outside the state. This production is carried out in open fields.

“Another method is cultivation inside protected structures, where orchids, gerbera, and anthurium are grown. Earlier, cultivation was done in 225 units, which has now increased to 504 units. Earlier, it was 25 percent cultivation, which has now increased to 43 percent. The demand for flowers in Tripura is high.

“In the world, the most respected occupation is farming, and we treat farmers with this respect. There is no one who does not love flowers and children. If there are such people, they are not good people. Flowers can transform people into good people,” said the Minister.