Shillong: Farmers across Meghalaya are dumping crops as prices bottom out. Cabbage and radish prices have plummeted, leaving growers with no choice but to throw their hard work away or sell for pennies. Titosstarwell Chyne, general secretary of the United Democratic Party, demanded the government pull the 2020 Meghalaya State Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Act out of cold storage.
Chyne highlighted the absurdity of the current situation. "We do not enact laws merely to keep them locked away in government offices," he said. The legislation, passed four years ago, remains largely ignored by state officials. It includes provisions for Market Committees meant to oversee fair trade and prevent the exploitation of rural cultivators.
The Act allows the state to set a Minimum Support Price during market crashes. Chyne wants these committees active in every district immediately to stop distress sales. He also pushed the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council to step up. Under the 1979 regulation, as amended in 2021 and implemented by the 2024 Market Rules, the Council holds authority over local markets. He claims this overlap requires both the state government and the KHADC to coordinate to stop traders from manipulating prices or under-weighing produce.
Without these protections, farmers face recurring cycles of heavy losses and uncertainty. The government must find the political will to act. Chyne insisted that the state has the legal tools, but lacks the follow-through to ensure the backbone of the rural economy gets paid fairly for their harvest.
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