Shillong, July 25: Meghalaya government on Friday inked 13 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with leading technical and research institutions to drive grassroots entrepreneurship.

The MoUs were signed at the Summit for Rural Empowerment held at the State Convention Centre in Shillong.

These strategic partnerships—under the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM)—aim to transform rural enterprise development by facilitating technology transfer, product innovation, and access to national markets.

Officials confirmed that six more MoUs are in the pipeline, poised to further energise the state’s rural economy.

The initiatives focus on converting local resources into high-value, eco-friendly products.

Notable innovations under development include turning pineapple and banana waste into bio-fertilisers and packaging material, processing flowers into herbal dyes and gulal, extracting essential oils from medicinal plants, and developing nutraceuticals and value-added foods from millets, sweet potato, and tapioca.

Agriculture Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh called the PMJVM “a transformative vision now bearing fruit” and cited flagship programmes like the CM Farm Plus scheme and the State Organic Farming Mission—covering 52,000 hectares with an expansion goal of 1 lakh hectares by 2028—as critical to Meghalaya’s rural revival.

The minister also highlighted that 169 Vikas Divyangta Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) have been sanctioned, impacting over 50,000 people. Each VDVK supports around 15 self-help groups—60% tribal—offering ₹15 lakh in funding for procurement, training, and packaging support.
“Meghalaya is blending traditional wisdom with scientific innovation to build a rural economy that is green, inclusive and resilient,” said Lyngdoh.

Branding initiatives like Meghalaya Collectives, she noted, are giving local products national and international visibility.

Dr. Vijay Kumar D of the Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA) said the MoUs will help transform VDVKs into viable rural enterprises by connecting them with national-level institutions. He noted the agreements build on the foundation laid by the state’s PRIME programme (2018), with PMJVM now aligning the efforts of MSRLS, FOCUS, cooperatives and producer groups.

He also recalled Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s praise of Meghalaya as a model for a confident, self-reliant India.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, speaking at the event, said the summit reflects the government’s impact on farmers, women’s collectives and rural communities. He shared that nearly 55,000 self-help groups with over five lakh women have been formed in seven years, and that two lakh farmers and 20,000 producer groups are receiving government support.

Addressing challenges like delayed seed access, Sangma spotlighted the CM Farm Plus scheme as a game-changer. He also mentioned the CM Assure programme, through which ₹50 crore was spent in just eight months to stabilise prices for key crops like broomstick and arecanut.

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