Lentil: A Potential Pulse Crop to be explored in Tripura

Lentil in demands

       In Tripura, anyone asked for daily menu would give an inevitable answer of Lentil soup or locally ‘Dal’ in their daily menu chart. It is such a popular recipe that more than eighty percent of the total population would not miss the ‘Dal’ in their meal.

     But, the question is; have anybody (Agriculturist) ever given serious attention to this highly market potential pulse for popularization? How the requirement of Lentil does is fulfilled in Tripura?

       In Tripura, whatever is available in the market is coming from outside the states! Or at least the lion share of total Lentil requirement in the state is met up through outside state.

Present scenario of Lentil cultivation

       It is not that soil & climatic condition are not suitable for Lentil cultivation but the fact is that most of the people of Tripura are not even opportune to see the grown up Lentil plants itself.

       The crop is suitable to the soil & climatic condition to be grown as Rabi crop but it has not been tried in Tripura for its popularization. Though the department of agriculture is pursuing the matter and Krishi Vigyan Kendra also trying best to popularize the pulses crops in Tripura but till date no remarkable achievement is observed in the matter.

       With the land and climatic condition, by this time Tripura should have been self reliant in Lentil cultivation and production nevertheless it has not been happening so due to lack of insights to the Lentil pulse cultivation and its viability in the state.

        As mentioned the state has huge market for Lentil but this opportunity is not harnessed due to our planning and forecast, thus this potential pulse crop is not making it root mark in the state.

        This Lentil crop could easily be grown in upland immediately after the Rice crop (Kharif) but due to our lack of vision and mission, it has remained sideline and alien to the people of the state.

Future focus

       By adopting and popularizing the Lentil cultivation in the state it would not only fulfill the daily requirement of alternative protein and market potentiality but soil would also be enriched with the nitrogen through rhizobium that develops in the root zone of the leguminous crops like Lentil.

       The need of the hour is; local demand is huge, soil & climatic conditions are suitable so tap the potential pulse crop in the state for earning the good income and family needs from that pulse crop.

    Agritangkol dated 31.12.2011 at 10.00 A.M

Litchi: Should it be promoted as Profitable Farm Activities?

         Litchi, a fruit crop of Tripura is in critical juncture of furtherance and deterrence. This is because of its economic non-viability and too much land requirement. In one side there is comparatively more land requirement and on the other hand economic viability is in question due to meager production.

       The state department is promoting the litchi cultivation in the state to the farming communities since long time. Although no remarkable solo litchi plantation had come up in the field level but there are several government farms of litchi plantation standing tall and serving the thirst of the people for a few days period during the season.

      Litchi plantation requires lots of space due to luxurious growth of the tree but the yield period is mere one week or two, within these short periods all fruits gets ripened and drops or harvested. What is the profitability of litchi? No records to show any promising income from litchi plantation!

      Economically, litchi is not viable to be cultivated or planted as solo fruit crop in any given plot of land. Nevertheless, some kinds of interest and persuasion by the farmers and the department are observed.

       To be precisely speaking in the matter, litchi fruit plants should not be discouraged but in the same time, it may not be advisable for going solo with the litchi, it can be tried with other fruit crops. Litchi suits best for homestead maintenance for family requirement and consumption.

   Agritangkol dated 30.12.2011 at 10.00 A.M

Gowala Basti: A place of Milk Mine in Tripura

       Gowala Basti a small cluster village situated just in front of the Tripura Legislative Assembly house and civil secretariat is the place renowned for milk production activities in the Agartala area of the state.

        This is the place where all the people believed to be from Bihar have settled and started their milk production activities quite long time ago. At present, the place has approximately 500 families all are some ways or other connected to milch cow rearing, milk production and supplying milk to the Agartala areas since long time.

       The most amazing part of the people is; even though they do not posses fodder or Pasteur lands but they could successfully manage the milch cows and earning large chunk of their daily income through milk selling in the municipality area of the Agartala.

      From the own version of one such milk producer of the Gowala Basti, it is stated that this place produces approximately 45,000 litres of milk per day by almost 300 milk producers. The total income earned from the daily sale of milk is approximately `. 11,70,000 per day through retail selling of milks in Agartala municipality area particularly in the sweet and beverage shops.

      Milch cows of pure Jersey, HF and Sind breeds are reared by the people of Gowala Basti for production of higher quantities of milk. Their only reliance for keeping the livestock is; concentrate feeds from the local markets and green fodder from the Lembucherra and Kamalghat areas. It is stated that people of the area have to depend on concentrate feeds due to scarce resource of green fodder in the adjoining areas.

      This scarcity in green fodder and over reliance on concentrate animal feeds is the stumbling blocks to the people as it incurs fair amount of expenditure in milk production thereby profit per liter of milk sold has been reducing with the increase in animal feeds. During rise of price of animal concentrate feed, people of the area also feels the heat in managing the input cost and maintaining the per litre profit margin.

     However, this has never deterred the people of Gowala Basti in Milk production activity and it has remained to be their one of the core economic activity since long.

This is the place for bulk organic manure and caters the demands of the organic manures to a certain extent through sale of cow dung to the orchard owners or other farmers of the state. People of the area earn a good side income through selling of cow dung and also saves money through utilization of cow dung for fuel purpose.

        This place, the people of the Gowala Basti have so much to deliver if they are given a good facility of fodder or Pasteur lands for catering the livestock especially the Milch cow rearing activities in the state.

       People from the other areas have lots to learn from the people of Gowala Basti; the place should be an ideal place for exposure tour for the farming communities from other areas for inducing their interest in milch cow rearing and first hand knowledge of milk production in economic manners.

     Agritangkol dated 30.12.2011 at 10.00 A.M