SHILLONG:
Broomstick farmers of the state were able to showcase their produce to the rest of the country thanks to the Mahalakshmi Saras Exhibition-2023.
Hillarius Mukhim, one of the participants from the state and a resident of Mawshut under Bhoirymbong Block of Ri-Bhoi district represented the Farmers Producer Organisation (FPO).
The FPO named as Basuba Broom Producer Company Ltd. is marketing the broomsticks produced by farmers in Bhoirymbong area.
Mukhim said that at the Mahalakshmi Saras Exhibition-2023 he was pleasantly surprised that he met people who used broom sticks but did not know where the raw material came from.
He said that his participation in the exhibition was a way to introduce Meghalaya’s broomsticks to the rest of the world.
Ibanshan Basaiawmoit a resident of the state residing in Mumbai said that the producers who are able to sell the broomsticks directly will double their profit.
Basaiawmoit said that often the middlemen squeeze the farmers by buying the broomsticks at cheaper rates.
He also said showcasing the broomsticks in the exhibition people from the rest of the country will see how it looks.
Another resident of the state Rangjit Khongsar working in Mumbai who visited the exhibition said that the initiative to showcase broomstick is like a spark to push its market throughout the country.
“This produce is often bought by Marwaris who squeeze the farmers. But through this exhibition the broomstick producers can directly meet buyers which will be profitable for the farmers,” Khongsar said.
In the year 2019, the state government had declared broomstick as an agro-forestry product.
This initiative of the broomstick farmers of the state to unite is mainly because middlemen often squeeze them by buying their produce at low rates.
The Mahalakshmi Saras Exhibition-2023 is being organised for the first time in Navi Mumbai at CIDCO Exhibition Centre in Vashi from March 8 to 19, 2023.