Agartala, Feb 4 : Tripura has witnessed a sharp rise in flower cultivation and production over the past seven years, benefitting more than 59,000 farmers across the state, Agriculture and Farmersâ?? Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath said on Wednesday.

The Minister was speaking after inaugurating the Vivekananda Flower Garden in West Tripura. Highlighting the growing importance of floriculture, Nath said flowers are an integral part of social, cultural, and religious life.

â??Flowers are required everywhere -- from greetings and religious programmes to social and cultural events. Tripuraâ??s fertile soil and abundant rainfall make the state highly suitable for flower cultivation,â?? he said.

The Minister said that while flowers were earlier seen mainly as decorative items, floriculture has now emerged as a profitable livelihood option, with several farmers earning lakhs of rupees annually.

Citing examples, he said Sentu Bhowmik of Barjala earns around Rs 8 lakh annually from flower cultivation, Pradip Sarkar of Kanchanmala earns nearly Rs 12 lakh, while farmers like Jayanta Dey of Chandibari and Indrajit Debnath of Baikhora earn between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 9 lakh.

â??Flower cultivation has significantly improved the livelihoods of farmers. Earlier, marigold, rose, and rajanigandha were grown mostly in open fields,â?? Nath said.

He informed that before 2018, flowers were cultivated on 2,738 kani (one kani equal to 0.34 acres) of land in Tripura, which has now increased to 11,720 kani over the last seven years.

â??The number of farmers engaged in floriculture has risen from 2,190 to 59,100, while production has increased from 1,117 metric tonnes to 2,704 metric tonnes,â?? the Minister said.

He added that earlier, only 35 per cent of the stateâ??s flower requirement was met through local production, whereas currently about 89 per cent is produced within the state, with only around 21 per cent being sourced from outside.

Nath said that apart from open-field cultivation, protected structures are increasingly being used for growing high-value flowers such as orchids, gerbera, and anthurium.

â??Earlier, cultivation under protected structures was carried out in 225 units, which has now increased to 504 units. The share of such cultivation has also gone up from 25 per cent to 43 per cent, reflecting the high demand for flowers in Tripura,â?? he said.

Stressing the importance of farmers, the Minister said agriculture remains one of the most respected professions in the world.

â??There is no one who does not love flowers and children. Flowers have the power to transform people and bring positivity,â?? he said.

/IANS