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Shillong, December 7, 2021: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday inaugurated the higher secondary building of St. Xavier’s at Umoid near Mawkyrwat in South West Khasi Hills.

Among the dignitaries present at the inauguration were local MLA and Minister, P.H.E., Renikton Tongkhar Lyngdoh and Regional Development Director, Jesuits in the Northeast India, Fr. Anand Pareira.

During his address the Chief Minister said that the Jesuits have always contributed immensely to the holistic development of the society through their various initiatives. He expressed optimism that St. Xaviers Umoid will also develop into a ‘centre of excellence’ that will impart quality education to the people of the region.

Impressed by the display of talent and confidence of the students during the inaugural function the Chief Minister also advised students to have a sense of purpose and passion for what they do, adding that there is no substitute for discipline and hard work to be successful in life.

During the occasion the Chief Minister also took the opportunity to inform the people that the Government has secured externally aided projects for upscaling of tourism infrastructure in South West Khasi Hills.

‘Few months back I had come to see some of the tourist destinations out here and based on my last visit, I had prepared externally aided project through JICA and I’m happy to inform you that JICA has cleared it’, he said.

The Chief Minister added that some of the popular tourist locations in the area such as the hot springs, the monoliths and other attractions would be developed under the PPP model with active involvement of local communities.

‘In Meghalaya we have decided that we will partner with the community, not just an individual, and we will ensure that the benefits and returns of whatever investment the Government makes goes back to the people’, the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister also said that development of tourism will create environmentally less impactful and sustainable livelihood opportunities for the people.

‘We feel that our people are dependent on resources which are exhaustible whether it’s the forest products or the different mineral resources we have… they have limitations, and one day or one point in time we will run out these resources. Even as we speak our forest covers are being affected because people don’t have the livelihood options’, he said.

He added that it is the responsibility of the Government to create alternative means of livelihood so that people will not depend on forest and forest products or depletable mineral resources and shift towards more sustainable forms of economic development such as tourism.

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.