SHILLONG, March 6: The Opposition on Thursday urged the state government to focus on value addition to support and assist broomstick farmers.
During the Question Hour, Leader of the Opposition Mukul Sangma, while raising a supplementary question, recalled how, during his tenure in government, broomsticks were sold at just Rs 2. He highlighted how the government had sought the intervention of the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED), which helped improve prices.
Referring to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s mention of TRIFED, he questioned how the organisation could be further involved in enhancing the value of broomsticks.
“We have bamboo and various other materials that can be utilized by skilled artisans trained in crafts. These artisans can be engaged in bundling the broomsticks into beautifully crafted bundles, which can be sold for Rs 100 or Rs 200 each. Imagine the multiplier effect this could have. Can this possibility be examined?” he asked.
Minister in charge of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare responded that the state government continues to follow the previous policies and has not discontinued any initiatives, recognising the crucial role TRIFED plays in securing government support from the Government of India (GoI).
“We have also discussed the Minimum Support Price (MSP), and TRIFED has agreed to increase it by 10% above the market price. We are already engaging actively with TRIFED and exploring support pricing mechanisms. The chief minister is also banking on financial support from such institutions,” she added.
Raising another supplementary question, the Leader of the Opposition asked whether the department could take steps to help and assist farmers in value addition, as this could serve as an additional measure to address their economic stress.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma informed the House that value addition initiatives have already begun through Prime Hubs, where self-help groups (SHGs) are being set up, and cooperative societies are being provided with machines to manufacture finished broomsticks.
He assured that, as suggested by the Leader of the Opposition, the government would expand and establish more broomstick processing units across different locations to enhance production and market reach.
