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Shillong, 18th May 2023
: Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, today launched the Dare to Dream Academy, a football development center by Dream Foundation, in collaboration with Assam Rifles Public School, BBFS Residential Academy, Indian Football Foundation and Baichung Bhutia Football Schoosl, at SAI, NEHU.

Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, in his speech while expressing his gratitude to Dream Foundation and Baichung Bhutia for having selected Shillong in the State of Meghalaya for the first residential football academy in North East said that it is not only an honor for the State but it speaks a volume of the potential of the youth of the State and North East in general in Sports. He informed the gathering that the government of Meghalaya in the last few years through the STAR Talent Identification programme have scientifically tested on International Standards about five thousand children across Meghalaya. He said the talent identification program for athletes aims to identify talented athletes at a young and impressionable age and then hone their skills through curated training programs.  “We hope that in 2036 Olympics there will be a Sportsperson from Meghalaya winning a medal for the country and to realize this vision STAR Talent Identification Program was launched to identify sports talents and impart quality training as per international standards and to encourage the Coaches and Athletes Cash Award Scheme has been initiated,” he said.

He also said that as politicians, as bureaucrats and even as a society sometimes we fail to understand and realize the dreams and aspirations of the youth so the government is now making policies and programmes based on what the youth want and supporting youth in Sports, Music etc. He added that the youth have immense energy and we need to allow this energy ball to move in the right direction and it is with this thought that the government has been pursuing different youth programs. He hoped that the Academy will be a great opportunity for the youth of the region to excel in Football. He also expressed happiness that the Dream Foundation is planning to set up more centers of excellence in different fields. “The North east is a powerhouse of athletes but the boys and girls of this area need the right nurturing, training and infrastructure and with such centers of excellence we will be able to showcase our strength and talent,” he added.

The Chief Minister also added that Sports is also an Economy and government is crucial in converging the different aspects in terms of support, making policies and providing infrastructure but different stakeholders need to play their role in making Sports an economy. “We need to look at the larger picture of how Sports can be remunerative, create jobs and be commercially viable therefore there is still a lot that needs to be done,” he said.

Earlier, in his speech Baichung Bhutia informed that the BBFS’ Foundation program offers best-in-class football coaching at the grassroots and youth levels. Children up to the age of 17 can train in any of BBFS’ training centers across India. He also added that a number of players that have graduated from the BBFSs and Residential Academies and are now playing for clubs are young boys from the North East. He also said that most of the football players are from Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya. He said that the concept of Residential Academy is to encourage young talents to become professional footballers and at the same time do not miss on their studies.

The center at present has 50 young boys from across the North East.

Initiatives : Agriculture

Launch of “Restart Meghalaya Mission’ on 15th August 2020

The Mission comprise of a series of interventions to support farmers and entrepreneurs by enabling them to build growth-promoting basic infrastructure and services. Under this Mission, 1917iTEAMS – the IT Platform aimed at enabling farmers access to agricultural information, crop advisories and markets will be expanded logistically through induction of another 100 vehicles.

Creation of the Directorate of Food Processing on May 2018

With the objective of seizing opportunities in the sector and the untapped food processing potential of the state for uplifting the livelihoods of farmers and value chain actors, the Government of Meghalaya created the Directorate of Food Processing (DFP) as a one-stop agency to handle all matters relating to food processing in the state and to deal with all central government Ministries and Agencies (viz. Ministries of Agriculture, and Food Processing, SFAC, NCDC, NABARD, etc.) in all matters pertaining to the development of agricultural food processing sector.

First Ever Farmer’s Parliament held on 4th - 5th December 2018

The parliament was organised by the state department of agriculture in collaboration with Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and the Hill Farmers' Union (HFU). As a step toward the promotion of new technologies, HFU with the support of Meghalaya government, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence App for farmers — called Nongrep (nongrep in Khasi language means farmer) with its software partner Impetus Solutions from Hyderabad — as a social innovation project. This app will address matters of farm aggregations, soil health and disease identification, crop yield, farm produce pickups, market linkage and retail sellers app.

Launch of the Farmer’s Portal on 7th May 2018

The Meghalaya Famers’ Portal (www.megfarmers.gov.in) of the Department of Agriculture is a platform for farmers to seek any information related to agriculture. Detailed information on farmers’ insurance, agricultural storage, crops, extension activities, seeds, pesticides, farm machineries, etc. is provided. Details of fertilizers, market prices, package and practices, programmes, welfare schemes are also given.

Awards & Recognitions
  • Meghalaya has been selected for the Commendation award in 'Total foodgrains Category-III' for 2017-18. The award consists of a citation and an amount of Rs. 1 crore.
  • Meghalaya Agriculture Department and the MIE Meghalaya Team won the '7th eNabling North East (eNorth East) Award 2019-20' in the 'Agriculture & Rural Development' category for 1917 iTEAMS project which is a project in collaboration with Digital India.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi awarded Meghalaya on May 2018 the Krishi Commendation Award for the year 2015-16, in recognition of the commendable foodgrains production achieved by the State.
  • Meghalaya has been adjudged the Most Improved Small State in the category of Agriculture and received the India Today – "The State of the States” Award on 23rd November 2018.