Three-Day Capacity Building Programme on Integrated Farming System (IFS) Kicks Off in Melaghar, Sepahijala in Tripura

A three-day Capacity Building Programme on “Integrated Farming System for Sustainable Agriculture, Technology Dissemination and Livelihood Improvement” commenced on 24 August 2026 at the Melaghar Municipal Council Town Hall, Melaghar, Sepahijala, Tripura. The programme was organized by the ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region (ICAR-RCER), Patna, Bihar, under the funds from North Eastern Hill (NEH) Component, in collaboration with Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Sepahijala, Tripura, under the aegis of the College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University (CAU), Lembucherra, Tripura.

The programme was organized under the guidance of Dr Anup Das, Director, ICAR-RCER, Patna, and Dr Anupam Mishra, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, CAU, Imphal, and with the technical guidance of Dr Ng. Iboyaima Singh, Director, Directorate of Extension Education, CAU, Imphal; Dr A. K. Mohanty, Director, ICAR-ATARI, Zone VII, Umiam, Meghalaya; and Prof. A. B. Patel, Dean, College of Fisheries, CAU, Lembucherra, Tripura.

The inaugural programme was graced by Shri Pradip Baran Roy, President, All Tripura Farmers’ Club, as the Chief Guest. In his address, he highlighted the significant contribution of ICAR, particularly ICAR-RCER, in the development and dissemination of agricultural technologies, including various Integrated Farming System (IFS) models, aimed at enhancing farm productivity and improving household income and livelihood security of farmers. Dr Anup Das, Director, ICAR-RCER, addressed the participants virtually and encouraged farmers to adopt modern agricultural tools, technologies and resource-efficient production practices for enhancing farm productivity and profitability. Dr P. C. Chandran, Principal Scientist, ICAR-RCER, highlighted various livestock and poultry-based technologies developed by ICAR for improving livestock productivity and creating a buffer source of income to strengthen household livelihood security. Dr Rohan Kumar Raman, Senior Scientist, ICAR-RCER, emphasized the importance of recent advances of digital agriculture in  Integrated Farming System models for efficient use of farm resources, reducing wastage and enhancing overall farm productivity and profitability.

The programme was also attended by Dr Bibhas Kanti De, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; Ar. Sujit Das, Deputy Director of Horticulture, Bishalgarh; Dr Shatabhisa Sarkar, Senior Scientist & Head, KVK Sepahijala; Dr Joy Kumar Dey, Subject Matter Specialist (Agronomy), KVK Sepahijala, along with officials of KVK Sepahijala, representatives of various government departments and other dignitaries.

A total of 110 farmers from Sepahijala district participated in the programme. To facilitate the immediate adoption of the technologies demonstrated during the programme, ICAR-RCER provided critical agricultural and aquacultural inputs to the participating farmers. These included:

• Fishery inputs: 20,000 Indian Major Carp (IMC) fingerlings.

• Horticultural inputs: 500 mango seedlings.

• Vegetable seeds: 110 packets of cauliflower seeds (10 g per packet), 110 packets of chilli seeds, 5 kg radish seeds, 5 kg pumpkin seeds and 3 kg onion seeds.

The distribution of these inputs is expected to facilitate the adoption of diversified and integrated farming practices, promote efficient utilization of farm resources and contribute to enhanced farm productivity, income generation and livelihood improvement among the participating farmers.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Dr Joy Kumar Dey, Subject Matter Specialist, KVK Sepahijala, who expressed gratitude to the dignitaries, participating farmers, collaborating institutions and all officials involved in organizing the programme.