Shillong, Jun 20: A total of 172 farmers, state officials, and staff members of ICAR, on Saturday virtually joined the launch of the 23rd installment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme at the ICAR Research Complex for the North Eastern Hills (NEH) region in Umiam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the scheme from Tarakeswar in Hooghly district of West Bengal. Over ₹18,880 crore was disbursed directly into the Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of more than 9.44 crore eligible farmers.
The livestream event was attended by Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Timothy D Shira. In his address, the minister acknowledged the contribution of farmers in ensuring the nation’s food security. He noted that marginal farmers continue to face several challenges, and highlighted the Government of India’s various initiatives aimed at enhancing agricultural production and farmers’ income.
Shira encouraged farmers to market their perishable produce directly to processing units instead of depending solely on outside traders and urged them to work closely with both state and central agencies for the overall development of agriculture in Meghalaya.
Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Secretary R. Nainamalai observed that Meghalaya’s farmers have a significant role in the state’s development and stressed the responsibility of government agencies to create awareness about various farmer-centric schemes at the grassroots level.
ICAR Director Dr. G. Kadirvel referred to the low enrollment under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal BimaYojana (PMFBY) in the region and urged state departments to intensify awareness campaigns and promote convergence of schemes such as “Per Drop, More Crop” and PM-KUSUM for maximising benefits to farmers.
