Tura, Feb 4: Women entrepreneurs from Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura came together at Central Agricultural University (CAU), Tura, on Wednesday for a one-day regional workshop aimed at strengthening women-led enterprises in agriculture and allied sectors across the Northeast.

The workshop, titled “Women in North Eastern Agriculture: Breaking Barriers, and Building Businesses,” was organised by the All India Coordinated Research Project on Women in Agriculture (AICRP–WIA) at the College of Community Science (CCS), CAU. It brought policymakers, scientists, financial institutions, NGOs and grassroots entrepreneurs onto a common platform to address challenges in production, value addition, branding and market access.

In her opening address, the Dean of the College of Community Science, Jyoti Vastrad, underscored the critical role of women in agriculture, particularly in pre- and post-harvest activities such as mushroom cultivation, fisheries, cattle feed preparation, food processing and marketing. She noted that women entrepreneurs are not just income generators but custodians of indigenous knowledge and drivers of sustainable rural development.

Chief Guest Vibhor Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner of West Garo Hills, stressed the need to organise women entrepreneurs into activity-based clusters — such as weaving, pickle making and soap production — to improve efficiency, maintain quality standards and enhance market reach.

He called for stronger inter-departmental coordination to support women across the entire value chain, from production and processing to packaging, branding and sales.

D.K. Pandey from the Ministry of MSME briefed participants on central schemes available to women entrepreneurs, including support for product development, packaging, technical guidance and financial assistance. He encouraged entrepreneurs to engage proactively with MSME offices to scale up their businesses. Officials from MSME, Tura, also appreciated the diversity and quality of products showcased during the event.

A key highlight of the programme was the release of two publications — “Cultivating Prosperity”, documenting grassroots entrepreneurial models and sustainable livelihoods, and “Knowing Each Other, Growing Together”, focusing on collective growth and collaboration among women entrepreneurs.

An exhibition and start-up stalls added vibrancy to the workshop, with participants displaying handmade and value-added products. The showcase provided an opportunity for entrepreneurs to share success stories and challenges, reflecting the resilience and innovation shaping women-led agri-businesses in the region.

A ‘chai PE charcha’, a round table discussion, was held where fruitful discussions on the constraints and the problems faced by them were held. Strategies to combat the constraints were well addressed by the stakeholders.

The workshop concluded with a call for stronger institutional support and networking to help women entrepreneurs in the Northeast transition from small-scale production to competitive, market-ready enterprises.

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