Tura, Oct 1: The first ever International Coffee Day & AGHMPCS Foundation Day celebration was held at Babadam, West Garo Hills on Tuesday where Meghalaya Speaker Thomas A Sangma was the Chief Guest in the presence of Distinguished dignitaries and beneficiaries of the region.
Addressing a huge gathering of members of Cooperative Societies, Coffee growers and farmers of the region, Sangma stated that everyone had gathered here to celebrate two significant occasion namely the International Coffee Day (ICD) and Foundation Day of AGHMPCS (All Garo Hills Multi Purpose Cooperative Society) at Babadam adding that this is first time attending a Coffee day celebration.
The Chief Guest said that farmers should be encouraged to grow good quality Coffee along with the processing and branding which has already been taken up by the Cooperative Society and that the collaborative effort of these societies and concerned departments would facilitate the popularity of coffee which is gaining momentum these days. Expressing his appreciation to the collaborative support of the Government of Meghalaya, Banks, Nabard, Cooperative societies, line departments and other agencies for supporting the local entrepreneurs and farmers to become self sufficient and achieve sustainable livelihood, he said that the spirit of cooperation is necessary to achieve success in any undertaking, while urging everyone to avail the opportunity provided by the Government through concerned departments and stride along with the world to make coffee as one of the best commodity in our region.
Lauding the efforts of the achievement of the co-operative society within these few years, he congratulated Fr. Sunny Mavelil, Secretary of AGHMPCS and its members and also informed that the entire campus is solar powered and expressed hope that many more achievements are yet to come in future. He further expressed his satisfaction on the ice-cream manufactured by one of the Cooperative societies from Tikrikilla which was served during the function.
Meanwhile, Block Development Officer, Rongram Community & Rural Development Block Cherime Sangma extended warm wishes for the Foundation day of AGHMPCS and Coffee day on behalf of the District Administration and mentioned about the concept of transforming villages into vibrant hubs of collective prosperity and unity in cultivation without compromising the quality of the product. Informing about the great disparity between employment seekers and employment providers, she said that this opportunity would benefit the people of the region and urged them to avail the facilities provided to improve employment opportunities in the area.
Sun Mahammad Ali, SLO, Tura Coffee Board highlighted the significance of International Coffee Day which was launched in 2015 in Milan Italy by the International Coffee organization which provides special offers, support and promotes sustainable coffee practices that benefit coffee farmers worldwide. He also informed that this year’s theme of ICD is “Embracing Collaboration for Collective Action” and therefore, all concerned departments are gathered here to celebrate the occasion.
Joint Director, Coffee Board Naveen Kumar B Rynthathiang, Campus Director, NEHU Tura Professor Sujata Gurudev, General Manager, NABARD, J Blah, Divisional Officer, Soil & Water Conservation, Tura Vivela D Shira, Sub-Registrar of Cooperatives, Vallentina K Marak, President and Secretary, AGHMPCS, were among others who spoke on the occasion.
The Chief Guest, Thomas A Sangma launched the Ge’am Gardens and also distributed Coffee Machine to the beneficiaries which was sponsored by the Government of Meghalaya costing around Rs 2 Lakhs per machine.
Meanwhile, the Campus Director, NEHU Tura Professor Sujata Gurudev launched the Vegetable Mission and also distributed 300 kilograms of organic Vegetable Seeds for one thousand families, Joint Director, Coffee Board Naveen Kumar B Rynthathiang distributed Cheques to the best Coffee growers in the area, Sub-Registrar of Cooperatives, Vallentina K Marak distributed Cashew Saplings to the beneficiaries, General Manager, NABARD, J Blah distributed Coffee saplings to coffee beneficiaries of the area.