Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Shillong: The Meghalaya Department of Soil and Water Conservation launched the Meghalaya Mandi on August 26. This state-wide digital marketplace links farmers with aggregators, buyers, and transporters. The platform covers all 12 districts and handles over 13 major crops. It intends to fix issues like unstable pricing, fragmented sales, and high shipping costs.
Officials built this system after a successful five-month pilot in the North Garo Hills. During that trial, 800 farmers moved 330 metric tonnes of produce. This included 180 MT of ginger, 100 MT of bananas, 30 MT of pineapple, and 20 MT of turmeric. The pilot generated Rs 1.5 crore in total business value. Growers pocketed an estimated Rs 78 lakh in extra income. The department noted these transactions happened with zero cost to the government exchequer.
The program emphasizes price certainty for local growers. At the launch event, workers dispatched a 13 MT consignment of bananas to the Jamshedpur-based Himalayan Food Company. Farmers secured a fixed rate of Rs 120 per bunch, regardless of the individual banana size. This removes the guesswork from seasonal sales.
The government now seeks to grow the value of high-demand items like Lakadong turmeric, oranges, ginger, and pineapples. Officials noted, "Establishing reliable market connections remains a key challenge for farmers, particularly because of price fluctuations and transportation costs." The platform allows producers to hunt for buyers outside their immediate areas and bypass intermediaries. It shifts the state from limited district-level interventions to a unified digital trade system.
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