Our Special Correspondent
TURA:
In its continued effort to reach out to the farming community in Meghalaya, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Saturday reached out to farmers at Tikrikilla, where at least 288 producer groups had gathered to receive cheques amounting to Rs 1.86 crore.
Distributing the cheques at a public programme, which saw participation of Producers Groups, Self-Help Groups and Cooperative Societies, the chief minister reiterated the Government’s ambitious farmers collectivisation programme – FOCUS, that aims to revolutionise farming activities linked to income generations.
“As a government, we realised that our farming communities in the state were left out, which called for launching various welfare initiatives for the farmers. Through our programmes, we are providing support, financial assistance and market linkage, so as to upscale farming activities,” he said.
In a prioritized manner the government has rolled out the FOCUS programme in the state and by March this year Rs 17.28 crore will be disbursed to about 1650 Producers Groups and by the end of financial year 2022-23 another Rs 130 crore will be disbursed to about 16,800 producers’ groups.
‘FOCUS’, which is dubbed as the largest farmers welfare programme in the history of Meghalaya, envisages reaching out to at least 4.5 lakh farmers with different welfare schemes.
He told the gathering that under FOCUS Rs 200 crore has been earmarked for the current financial year, which is being disbursed to farmers across the state as financial support.
In the last three months, Community Investment Funds (CIF) to the tune of Rs 120 crore has been disbursed. During the programme in Tikrikilla, the chief minister distributed interest-free bank loans worth Rs 29 lakh and Community Investment Funds of Rs 21 lakhs to women-led SHGs.
“Our commitment to spur women empowerment and their entrepreneurial dreams is testament to the burgeoning SHGs Movement in the State,” he added.
During his day-long programme in Tikrikilla, Sangma also interacted with beneficiaries of PMAYG, MGNREGS, NSAP, farmers & SHGs at Tikrikilla.
“Understanding people’s issues at the grassroot and ensuring they are heard allows us to make better decisions to their advantage and MDA is committed to this end,” he added.