Shillong: The North Eastern Council is forcing a shift in how Meghalaya handles its turmeric industry. NEC Secretary Satinder Kumar Bhardwaj issued a warning on October 23 during an inspection of the Integrated Lakadong Turmeric Value Chain Enhancement Project. He wants all regulatory approvals and certifications secured long before machines arrive at the sites.
Construction creates dead ends without paperwork. If facilities sit idle after installation because they lack ISO certification, the project fails the farmers. Bhardwaj toured the site of a proposed Centralised Processing Unit in Thadmuthlong C. Phramer village and checked the Bio-curcumin Extraction Unit at Laskein. The Laskein plant sits stagnant, waiting for mandatory certification before it can extract curcumin.
Bhardwaj was joined by NEC Director Dr. Sentitula and Pranjal J. Dutta of the Meghalaya State Agricultural Marketing Board. The group reviewed plans for the Thadmuthlong facility, where civil engineers are currently wrapping up cost estimates before the bidding begins. This plant aims to boost the value of the region’s GI-tagged Lakadong turmeric.
During a session with the Lakadong Turmeric Cooperative Union Ltd., members discussed lessons learned from trips to Kandhamal, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. They examined soilless farming and extraction tech to improve local yields. However, hurdles remain. At the Shangpung Farmers Union Collective Marketing Centre, growers told the Secretary that they face a severe shortage of manure. Bhardwaj told them to look into the National Dairy Development Board for cattle support, stating, "Such assistance fell outside the NEC’s mandate."
Quality control remains a major focus for the project. Bhardwaj pushed the Shangpung group to tighten packaging standards to avoid export rejections. He directed the team to adopt batch-coding for better tracking and to slap their brand identity on every carton and roll of tape. These changes are intended to fix weak links in the supply chain. The goal is simple: ensure that infrastructure investments actually pay off for Jaintia Hills farmers.
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