Tripura Government Succeeds In Setting-Up Five ‘Bio-Villages’; Six In Queue

Posted in Featured, Northeast, Tripura

  • Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura 

Tripura government succeeded in setting up of five ‘Bio-Villages’ intersecting sustainable development, climate change mitigation and climate adaption, said Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma, who is also the minister in-charge of Science, Technology and Environment department.

According to the Copendium of Best Practice on Climate Action from Indian states shared by the Deputy Chief Minister in his official Facebook page, it stated that in Tripura, over 500 households have been benefited with the successful implementation in five ‘Bio-Villages’ while four more are in the implementation stage and two additional villages are in the pipeline. Each household is drawing an economic benefit of Rs 5,500 per month.

Congratulating the Directorate of Bio-technology under Tripura’s STE department in a social media post, Dev Varma on Friday wrote “Congratulations to Directorate of Bio Technology under my Science and Technology Department, government of Tripura for designing and for setting up the first Bio-Villages in the country. This has been recognised as one of the ‘Best Practises From Indian States’ by an international group. These bio villages are examples of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in some of the remotest areas of the state. Taking SDG to the last mile.”

The concept of ‘Bio-Village’ was first introduced by the Directorate of Biotechnology, Government of Tripura in 2018 with the primary objective of promoting organic farming. However, as the initiative evolved, components such as biogas, improved breed of livestock, solar powered agricultural equipment and energy saving electrical devices were included to broaden the scope of the project in order to make it climate-smart. With the fundamental goal of providing sustainable livelihood and food security, the bio village project largely aims to ensure holistic socio-economic development among the rural communities through the application of climate friendly technologies focusing on both mitigation and adaptation. Project components like solar powered agricultural equipment, energy-saving electrical devices, biogas and bio-fertilizers are supporting climate mitigation at the local level. Similarly, components like improved livestock breed and temperature tolerant mushroom cultivation are ensuring a better adaptation to the changing climate. The project also aims to demonstrate compatible sustainable technologies that can also be replicable in other villages within the state.

The project has shown significant impact in terms of improvement of soil nutrient condition and pollination status. The project has also reduced the use of synthetic fertilizers, fossil fuels and firewood. The local farmers have learned simpler new techniques like mushroom cultivation, installation and maintenance of biogas units and bio-composting. It also strengthened the decision-making, marketing and team-building skills of the beneficiaries. The adaptation aspect of the project will reduce the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities. While the mitigation aspect of this initiative would ensure carbon neutrality in the longer run.

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