Shillong: Meghalaya has emerged as a top-ten cashew producer in India, a feat largely attributed to a grassroots movement led by Fr. Benoy Joseph. The priest intervened to save a dying industry in the Garo Hills, where farmers had begun abandoning their orchards due to systemic exploitation by traders.
Before the intervention, farmers were often paid only Rs 35 per kilogram for raw cashews, despite the nuts fetching prices up to Rs 1,200 per kilogram after processing. Many growers felt forced to cut down their trees, but Fr. Joseph changed the landscape by launching a cooperative in 2015 at Tikrikilla. He organized local self-help groups, which empowered women and created a sustainable path for community development.
The state government bolstered these efforts by establishing local processing units to remove predatory middlemen. The region now boasts 10,616 hectares of cashew cultivation with an annual output of 18,363 metric tonnes. Experts at the College of Community Science in Tura have even found innovative uses for the crop, noting that "dehydrated cashew apple powder can be used to make baked products such as cakes and cookies."
Infrastructure expansion continues through initiatives like the Megha-LAMP project, which provides financial aid and market access for organic branding. The state government now aims to shift the region from a raw exporter to an agri-processing hub, supported by subsidies for machinery through the PMFME scheme. In recognition of his impact on tribal economic empowerment, the state awarded Fr. Joseph the Pa Togan Nengminza Award in 2026.
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