Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today emphasised on growing incomes at the grassroots level to achieve the government’s goal of making Meghalaya among the top states in India.
He said the various programmes launched by the government for the youth, women, farmers and entrepreneurs were done with a vision to make the State one of the top states in the country.
“The vision of making Meghalaya among the top states in the country is a goal that has been driving us in everything that we are trying to do and we realize that in order to be able to achieve that until unless we see the incomes growing at the grassroots level we will not be able to achieve that goal,” he said at a program ‘Meghalaya Celebrating Entrepreneurs’ held here today.
The chief minister underlined the need for organisational structure to work with farmers and entrepreneurs in the rural areas. “The different Integrated Village Cooperative Societies, the producers’ groups are channels or institutionalize the system and to ensure that the benefits of the different programs trickle down to the grassroots level,” he said.
He said that entrepreneurs are vital in the entire organizational structure at all levels to collect, aggregate and sell the products at a higher price of what an individual farmer can sell. “The government is just a facilitator but it is the people, the farmers, producers and entrepreneurs who have to run the system,” he informed.
The chief minister also stated that the service sector will generate a large means of livelihood for the next generation. “With a great potential in Tourism, this sector along with IT sector will be very crucial for our people,” he added.
At the felicitation programme, the chief minister distributed cheques to Best Producer Groups, Best Integrated Village Cooperative Societies, Best Collecting Centers, Best Ginger Processing Units and also distributed sanctions to Meghalaya Ateliers Program under Meghalayan Age for handicrafts and Culinary Ateliers Program and also distributed sanction to different beneficiaries under the Homestay Scheme of the Tourism department.
The program was also attended by Country Program Officer, IFAD, Meera Mishra.
