Shillong, July 6: Meghalaya is hand-holding its farmers towards organic farming, which is the original form of agriculture in the state.

“Close to 75% of our citizens are farmers, predominantly agrarian as our society is. We have some unique products and products native to Meghalaya, which have drawn the attention of global markets partially because of government funding and focus but predominantly because of the ability of our indigenous farmers to handhold and continue the practice of predominantly organic farming practice in the state,” said Meghalaya Agriculture & Family Welfare Minister Dr Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh at the day-long Bharat Agri Conclave cum International Buyer-Seller Meet in Shillong on Saturday.

The primary objective of the event was to promote agri-horti products in the Northeast, especially those from Meghalaya. The event aims to link the producers and processors of Meghalaya with buyers from India and abroad.

“There is no doubt that in the vegetable sector, we are still tormented by the dependency on inorganic fertilizers, and slowly, the state of Meghalaya is now hand-holding the farmers towards organic farming, which is the original form of farming in the state,” she said.

Over 70 buyers from India and 12 other countries had a glance at the unique products which the state had to offer. The event displayed a wide range of agricultural products, including organic fresh fruits and vegetables, processed food products, spices such as Lakadong turmeric, natural honey, aromatic rice, pulses, and others.

The event was organized by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Meghalaya.

Additionally, 106 FPOs/FPCs, cooperative societies, and producer groups also took part in the event.

She emphasized the tremendous potential of the state in offering and contributing agricultural produce to domestic and global markets.

Speaking on the occasion, Meghalaya agriculture commissioner Dr Vijay Kumar D shared the initial success story of the first export shipment of Khasi Mandarin (GI) and pineapple to the Middle East. He outlined the vision of the state government to scale up such initiatives of exports of local products to international markets to increase farmers’ income.

APEDA chairman Abhishek Dev emphasized the export potential of agricultural products from Meghalaya.

He also outlined various initiatives to augment organic exports from the state and ease the organic certification process and further added that APEDA is expediting the accreditation of more certification bodies, especially from the Northeast, in the interest of the local organic farmers.

The exclusive Buyer Seller Meet in Meghalaya provided an opportunity for producers and processors of Meghalaya to showcase their products to global and domestic buyers.

APEDA will organise more such events in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam and Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) this financial year.

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