Shillong, Sept 13: Meghalaya’s first State Agriculture Policy proposes a shift from a predominantly subsistence-oriented farm economy towards higher-value agriculture, with greater emphasis on certified organic production, GI-tagged crops, farmer collectives, processing and organised markets.
The draft Meghalaya State Agriculture Policy 2026, placed in the public domain by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, identifies low productivity, fragmented landholdings, weak market infrastructure, poor connectivity and post-harvest losses among the major constraints facing farmers.
The draft policy argues that Meghalaya, with its small and fragmented farms and difficult terrain, is unlikely to compete with larger agricultural states in bulk commodity production. Instead, it proposes greater focus on high-value crops and products that can fetch better returns and are suited to the state’s geography.
Lakadong turmeric, Khasi Mandarin, ginger, pineapple, black pepper and other niche crops figure prominently in the proposed strategy. The policy also seeks to leverage Meghalaya’s existing low-input farming practices and biodiversity for premium markets.
From traditional farming to certified organic
The policy proposes expanding certified organic agriculture through cluster-based certification, with Lakadong turmeric, ginger, Khasi Mandarin, pineapple and black pepper among the priority crops.
It calls for digital farmer registration, geo-referenced farm mapping and a traceability system covering the chain from farm-level declaration to export consignments. The objective is to convert Meghalaya’s largely low-chemical farming practices into a verifiable certification that can support premium pricing.
The Meghalaya State Organic Mission 2024-28 aims to bring 1 lakh hectares under NPOP-certified organic cultivation by 2028, according to the draft policy.
The policy also proposes village-level organic input units, residue testing facilities and greater institutional and farmer capacity to meet organic standards.
Policy targets middlemen and weak price discovery
Market access is another major focus of the draft.
The policy notes that much of Meghalaya’s agricultural produce is traded through informal arrangements in which outside traders procure standing crops directly from farms or village clusters. While such transactions provide farmers with immediate liquidity, the policy says they also limit price discovery and weaken the bargaining position of producers.
Meghalaya currently has only one regulated market, according to the document. The policy proposes expanding organised market infrastructure, strengthening digital trading and auction mechanisms and improving linkages between farmer collectives and buyers.
It also proposes developing a common “Brand Meghalaya” for the marketing of the state’s agricultural products, along with stronger domestic and export linkages.
Processing and cold chain
The draft identifies inadequate post-harvest infrastructure as another major constraint, particularly for perishable horticultural produce.
Cold storage, grading and storage facilities are concentrated around Shillong, while integrated packhouses, processing units and logistics hubs remain limited, the policy says. Poor connectivity between production clusters and aggregation points further raises transportation costs and increases transit time.
The policy proposes a hub-and-spoke network of collection, grading, processing, storage and cold-chain facilities. PRIME Hubs are envisaged as important aggregation and processing points, supported by village and cluster-level facilities.
Solar-powered cold chains are proposed for off-grid areas, while farmer collectives would be encouraged to own and operate some of the infrastructure.
The policy also envisages processing agricultural produce into higher-value products rather than relying only on the sale of raw produce.
Small farms to be linked through collectives
With the average farm holding in Meghalaya at about 1.25 hectares, the draft says individual farmers often lack the scale required to negotiate with buyers, invest in machinery or participate effectively in larger markets.
The policy has identified 1,245 production clusters covering more than 6,800 villages, with cooperatives proposed as anchors for the clusters. It says around 1,100 of the required cooperatives are already in place, while more than 200 are yet to be constituted for unserved clusters.
Farmer collectives are expected to play a role in aggregation, certification, traceability, processing and market access.
Women to be registered as farmers
The draft policy gives a separate focus to women in agriculture.
It proposes a farmer-registration system under which women cultivators would be registered as farmers in their own names, enabling them to directly access benefits, credit and insurance.
It also proposes retaining a minimum 50% women leadership norm in cooperative institutions, increasing access to finance and deploying women extension workers. The policy further calls for greater participation of women in marketing cooperatives and FPOs.
Farmer income to be key measure
Significantly, the draft proposes farmer household income as its principal impact indicator.
The policy’s performance framework will also track farm sales, organised market access, the value of GI-tagged and certified organic produce moving through premium and export channels, youth-owned agri-enterprises and the coverage of climate-smart farming practices.
The approach reflects the policy’s stated objective of ensuring that a larger share of the value generated along the agricultural value chain reaches farmers.
The draft also places climate resilience, soil health, water management, farm mechanisation, agricultural research and extension among its 15 strategic thru
st areas.
The Agriculture Department placed the draft policy in the public domain on August 24 and has invited suggestions and comments from the public, institutions and stakeholders. The document will remain in the public domain until September 30, 2026, after which stakeholder consultations will help shape the final policy.
