Shillong, Nov 9: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today inaugurated the Chokpot Farmers’ Market in South Garo Hills, a Rs 9.26 crore project aimed at giving organised marketing facilities to farmers in the region.
The market has been developed by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) of South Garo Hills. It will provide dedicated selling spaces for farmers dealing in vegetables, fruits, spices and organic produce. More than 3,000 farmers from Chokpot and adjoining areas are expected to benefit from the facility.
The market is expected to be linked with farmer producer organisations (FPOs), farmer producer companies (FPCs) and key agricultural schemes to improve market connectivity and support agricultural activities in the region.
Officials said the linkage is intended to help farmers get better prices, reduce dependence on middlemen and ensure regular buyers for local produce.
Sangma also highlighted the renovation of block offices across Meghalaya over the past eight years, describing infrastructure upgrades as an important step towards improving governance and public service delivery. He said such facilities were essential to ensure that development reaches the last mile.
Meanwhile, the CM also inaugurated the Chokpot Warima PRIME Hub to support bamboo and arecanut value chains through common facilities for aggregation, processing, training and marketing.
Sangma also held a CM Connect event to interact with ordinary citizens of South Garo Hills and he inaugurated two bridges and laid the foundation stone for the 46.08km Chokpot–Kharukol Road. Part of his visit saw him inspect Allagre Community Health Centre and interacted with the doctors and staff to learn about how we can further improve the facilities and quality of service of the CHC and inspect the ongoing construction of a bridge at Allagre in Chokpot.
