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Conrad inspects construction of Capt. Williamson College in Baghmara, says infrastructure development of South Garo Hills on fast track

Baghmara, February 10, 2022: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma visited Baghmara town in South Garo Hills on Thursday to inspect the ongoing construction of Captain Williamson College and distribute financial assistance of a whopping Rs 1.1 Crore to 166 farmers producers groups in the region.

The chief minister told the people of South Garo Hills at a special programme in Baghmara that his government was focusing on giving the much needed thrust to areas of the state that had been neglected for a long time.

“In the last four years, our NPP led government has initiated multiple welfare programmes and infrastructure projects for South Garo Hills solely with the aim to accelerate the region’s development,” said Conrad Sangma.

After inspecting the only higher education college for the district- the Captain Williamson Sangma Memorial College, which is coming up at a cost of Rs 12 Crore, the chief minister exuded confidence that it would create better higher education facilities for the entire region.

The chief minister also said that thousands of people of Baghmara and its adjoining areas would be benefitting from safe drinking water once the ongoing implementation of Baghmara Water Supply Scheme is completed.

The importance of various road projects currently taking place was also highlighted by the chief minister who said that it would ensure internal connectivity and rural connectivity in the district.

The MLA of Siju Rongara Rakkam Sangma, who also accompanied the chief minister, lauded the efforts of the state government under the chief minister’s leadership to fast track development in his district of South Garo Hills.

Interacting with farmers producers groups during the programme, the chief minister distributed a total of Rs 1.1 Crore to 166 producer groups as part of the state government’s financial assistance through the government’s FOCUS programme.

The chief minister urged the public to avail benefits of FOCUS programme and other financial assistance that are being provided by the state government and said that interest free loans that are being provided by his government to ensure the livelihoods of our farmers are raised.

“My government’s vision is to double the income of our farmers. Our farmers over the years had faced the challenge of collectivizing their produce, buying and selling farm products individually,” said the chief minister.

With 4.5 lakh families dependent on Agriculture in the state, FOCUS scheme is a unique program of the State Government that brings direct benefits to farmers especially those impacted by Covid. The scheme will ensure that farmers are able to enhance their productivity, avail benefits of credit linkages and strengthen access to markets.

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.