Ampati, April 13: The legislator of Selsella constituency & Chairperson, Meghalaya State Council on Climate Change & Sustainable Development, Ferlin C.A. Sangma distributed inputs (ginger seeds/rhizomes) to the farmers of South West Garo Hills (SWGH) district for Quality Ginger Production under Ginger Mission, Spice Development Scheme at an impressive function organized by the district Horticulture department at Ampati on Wednesday in the presence of Vice-Chairman, MCCL, Dabo Mrong Marak and Addl. Deputy Commissioner, Ampati, A.V.D. Shira, among others.
It may be mentioned that Meghalaya once used to be the second highest producer of ginger in the country, however, with gradual decrease in productivity, the state has seen a decline in production of ginger spice and the government felt the need to improve its productivity through various interventions to help the farmers increase their ginger production and thereby support them in enhancing their income generation. With this aim in view, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had introduced Ginger Mission in the Budget Session in March 2022.
During this financial year, approximately 2000 hectares of area will be covered under the Mission in the entire state of Meghalaya out of which a total of 100 hectares will be covered in South West Garo Hills in 2022-2023. Fifteen clusters covering 60 villages across the district have been identified and 500 farmers selected under the Mission. Key components of the Mission are: introduction of improved high yielding varieties; collectivization and aggregation of the produce; processing of ginger; and market linkage.
Speaking on the occasion, Sangma, who formerly served as SDO (Civil) in the erstwhile Ampati Civil Sub-Division for nearly five years, expressed her joy to visit and meet the people, particularly, the farmers of the district, saying it was like a homecoming for her.
She said that the intention of the government is to empower the farmers by enhancing their productivity and uplift them through Ginger Mission. Highlighting the importance of ginger and its medicinal values, she appealed to the farmers to make the most of the interventions being given by the government so as to get maximum benefit from the scheme by producing high quality ginger in huge volumes and make Meghalaya reclaim its place as one of the highest ginger producers in the country.
