A program was held at the State Convention Center in Shillong in the presence of Sangma to felicitate the entrepreneurs and farmers of Meghalaya for their work and contribution in strengthening the agriculture, tourism and entrepreneurship sectors in Meghalaya.
The program saw awarding of awards to the best performing Producer Groups, Collective Marketing Centers (CMC), Integrated Village Cooperative Societies (IVCS) and Ginger Processing Units mobilized under the Meghalaya Livelihood and Market Access Project (Megha-LAMP) and farmers. Aggregation to scale up production and marketing systems (FOCUS).
Also sanctioned were artisans and craftsmen selected under the Meghalaya Ateliers and Meghalaya Culinary Ateliers programs and beneficiaries of the home stay scheme under the state tourism department.
Sangma stated that for India to be among the top per capita income countries in the next 10 years, incomes must first grow in various sectors. A comprehensive strategy is being implemented to maximize and utilize the two major areas of strength in the state, which are agriculture and tourism in Meghalaya.
This thought process has led to the creation of many programs and projects focused on livelihood promotion and enterprise development to institutionalize farmers, self-help groups, and producer groups. This program shows the state government’s commitment and investment in these sectors where the focus is on long-term farmers’ empowerment and livelihood.
He added that entrepreneurship has been an equally key area of work and the government is working to create a strong entrepreneurship ecosystem at all levels. Entrepreneurship offers people a platform beyond traditional and basic agriculture, and tourism shows the greatest potential in terms of job opportunities.
This sector needs to be developed and prioritized to cater to the 5 million youth who will inevitably be looking for jobs in the next 5-6 years. He asked the beneficiary participants under various programs and schemes to become a role model for other farmers, producer groups, self-help groups and entrepreneurs and create a grassroots movement so that Meghalaya achieves its goal of becoming a country with per capita income. reach up .
