SHILLONG, July 19: Jackfruit cultivation in Meghalaya has the potential to ensure socio economic development of the people and turn into a multi-crore industry if leveraged in the earnest, said Chief Minister Conrad Sangma after inaugurating the Jackfruit Mela 2022 at SMELC, Dakopgre, Tura, on Tuesday.
Stating that Meghalaya produces jackfruit worth Rs 400 crore annually, the CM asked farmers in Garo Hills to take advantage of the different programmes initiated by the state government under the Mission Jackfruit since the conditions in the region are conducive for jackfruit plantation.
Supervised by the Directorate of Food Processing, Mission Jackfruit was launched in 2018 as a five-year programme with the objective to promote sustainable rural and urban livelihoods through a slew of interventions for the beneficiaries.
Pointing out that the government’s initiatives under the Mission has resulted in production of different value-added jackfruits produce, Sangma said Meghalaya has the potential to develop jackfruit into a Rs 1,000 crore industry which would directly benefit 50,000 farmer families in the state.
At the Jackfruit Mela in Tura, the CM visited stalls that have been set up by various self-help groups and jackfruit entrepreneurs from Garo Hills region.
Later, the chief minister also distributed cheques worth Rs 92.60 lakh to as many as 161 farmer producer groups at Rangsakona in South Garo Hills as part of Farmers’ Collectivisation for Upscaling of Production and Marketing Systems (FOCUS), a flagship programme of the state government aimed at increasing production, improve productivity, facilitate credit linkages and strengthen access to markets for the producers engaged in activities such farming, livestock rearing and related activities.
“In the past two years, a lot of hardships were faced by our farmers due to COVID. This programme (FOCUS) was conceptualised by the government to provide financial assistance to the farmers and at the same time cushion the economic impact of the pandemic on the farming community of the state,” the chief minister said, while exhorting the farmers to form producer groups to avail the scheme.
