Shillong: Farmers in Meghalaya dumped six tonnes of cabbage for free on Thursday. Wholesale prices crashed to Rs 2 per kg. This sits far below the Rs 10 cost required to grow each kilo. The Hills Farmers’ Union staged the protest at the State Central Library in Shillong. Three pickup trucks hauled the load from the Smit area, including villages like Mawpyrshong, Thynroit, Mawlali, and Thangsning.
Scores of residents took the free produce. The financial reality is brutal. A typical 100-terrace harvest costs Rs 60,000 to produce but returns only Rs 12,000 at current market rates. Farmers are left with a Rs 48,000 deficit. Seeds, labor, and transport costs remain high. Many growers now face mounting agricultural loans and cannot pay for basic household needs like school fees.
HFU general secretary Alfondbirth Kharsyntiew condemned the gap between the farm-gate price and retail costs of Rs 30 to Rs 40. He demanded government intervention. "When farmers receive only Rs 2 per kg, there is no point in selling because it does not even cover the cost of cultivation," Kharsyntiew said. He asked the state to establish a Minimum Input Price.
The union met East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal on Wednesday. They sought better price monitoring. The Voice of the People Party Youth Wing and Women’s Wing joined the protest in solidarity. The HFU will now convene its executive committee to plan future moves. They want market regulation to protect the state's agricultural backbone.
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