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Shillong, February 28, 2022: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Monday laid the foundation stone for the Fr. Joseph Bacchiarello, Science-cum-Library Block of St. Anthony’s College, Shillong in the presence of the members of the management, faculty and students of the college.

Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony, the Chief Minister said that St. Anthony’s as an institute of repute has contributed immensely to the society and education of the youth. “I will do my best to keep supporting an institute like St. Anthony’s which has been contributing immensely in shaping our youngsters and has brought out so many ‘stars’, I should say, in our state, our region and the country,” he said.

During his address the Chief Minister also spoke on the importance of research and its role in innovation and overall economy building. He further added that the Government is working with different National and International Institutes in many diverse areas of problem-solving ranging from health to environment.

“We realise the importance of linking up with institutes especially when it comes to research, innovation and finding solutions and even collaborating for working together at the grassroots level where we have seen that a lot of our institutes and students are very keen to be a part of a solution,” he said.
He further added that it would be beneficial if such collaborative partnerships could be extended to local institutes.

Principal of St. Anthony’s College, Rev. Br. Albert L. Dkhar, while delivering his welcome address informed that the Rev. Fr. Joseph Bacchiarello Annexe is a G+5 story building that will accommodate the Central Library of the college, most of the Science Department and also The Northeast India Audio Visual Archive.

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.