Farmers, entrepreneurs feted in city programme

SHILLONG, July 14: Farmers and entrepreneurs were on Tuesday feted for their achievements during a state-level inaugural workshop on implementation of central sector scheme, viz. Silk Samagra-2 for sericulture development.
Organised by the Department of Sericulture and Weaving under the Ministry of Textiles along with Central Silk Board, the programme was attended by government officials, scientists of Central Silk Board, Sericulture and Weaving department officials, farmers, entrepreneurs, et al.
Commissioner and Secretary of Textiles department, FR Kharkongor, in his address, spoke at length about the achievements of the department in contributing to the development and progress of the farmers.
Stating that sericulture and handloom are part and parcel of the life and culture of Meghalaya, Kharkongor informed that the government is very keen to establish a yarn bank at Design Innovation Resource Centre (DIRC), Diwon, to enable sumptuous availability of quality Eri yarn throughout the year.
Informing that the DIRC in the Eri silk village is helping the eri farmers and weavers improve the income of the people of the area, he informed that renowned fabric designers from all over the country visited the Eri silk village.
During the programme, scientists also enlightened the gathering about the Silk Samagra-2 scheme.
Scientist- D Central Silk Board headquarters and nodal officer for the NE states, Dr VK Rahamathullah, said that the Centre’s Silk Samagra-2 is aimed at achieving atmanirbhartha (self-reliance) in bivoltine silk production and overall development of sericulture sector.
He said by the end of the project period, India is likely to produce 46,500 MT of raw silk.
The goal of Silk Samagra-2, scheme output and outcome, financial outlay, sharing pattern, fund allocation to state release etc., were also discussed in detail.
Scientist-D Research Extension Centre, CSB, Shillong, Dr N Balachandran, on the other hand, requested the participants to implement the scheme components as per the project guidelines for the benefit of the farmers of the state, thereby improving the raw silk production in Meghalaya.
Presentations were also made on the success stories of Eri spun silk-producing entrepreneur Wallambok Pyngrope of Bhoirymbong village, and Eri nursery farmer and a national award winner Amelson Ch Sangma of Williamnagar.