Tura, October 2: In a first for Garo Hills, the world’s most sought-after brew- Coffee, had its maiden International Day celebrations on October 1 at a well-known farmers’ cooperative society centre in Babadam village, approximately 35 kms from Tura.
International Coffee Day was jointly celebrated with the foundation day of the All Garo Hills Multipurpose Cooperative Society- one of the largest societies in the Garo Hills that process, package and export some of the most sought after organic spices, fruits and oils from the region.
Joining the celebrations, Meghalaya Assembly Speaker Thomas A Sangma told a gathering of members from different Cooperative Societies, Coffee growers and farmers of the region about the significance of the most favourite beverage and its high returns to farmers across the globe.
Visibly pleased at attending an international coffee day celebration for the very first time in the Garo Hills, Thomas Sangma said that coffee is more than just a drink, “It is a cherished ritual that unites people across cultures.”
Though coffee is becoming a part of the culture of the State, he mentioned that coffee may not be a popular drink in this part of the region, but very soon it will become popular, he added.
He encouraged farmers to grow good quality Coffee and pointed out that the processing and branding for it has already been taken up by the Cooperative Society.
Expressing his appreciation to the collaborative support of the Government of Meghalaya, Banks, Nabard, Cooperative societies, line departments and other agencies for supporting the local entrepreneurs and farmers to become self sufficient and achieve sustainable livelihood, the speaker said that the spirit of cooperation is necessary to achieve success in any undertaking and urge everyone to avail the opportunity provided by the Government through concerned departments and stride along with the world to make coffee as one of the best commodity in our region.
Lauding the efforts of the achievement of the co-operative society within these few years, he congratulated Fr. Sunny Mavelil, Secretary of AGHMPCS and its members and also informed that the entire campus is solar powered and expressed hope that many more achievements are yet to come in future. He further expressed his satisfaction on the ice-cream manufactured by one of the Cooperative societies from Tikrikilla which was served during the function.
Sun Mahammad Ali, SLO, Tura Coffee Board highlighted the significance of International Coffee Day which was launched in 2015 in Milan Italy by the International Coffee organization which provides special offers, support and promotes sustainable coffee practices that benefit coffee farmers worldwide. He also informed that this year’s theme of ICD is “Embracing Collaboration for Collective Action” and therefore, all concerned departments are gathered here to celebrate the occasion.
As part of the foundation day celebrations of the society, the speaker also launched the Ge’am Gardens and distributed coffee machines, at a cost of Rs 2 lakh per machine, to the beneficiaries sponsored by the Government of Meghalaya.
Meanwhile, the Campus Director, NEHU Tura Professor Sujata Gurudev launched the Vegetable Mission and also distributed 300 kilograms of organic Vegetable Seeds for one thousand families, Joint Director, Coffee Board Naveen Kumar B Rynthathiang distributed Cheques to the best Coffee growers in the area, Sub-Registrar of Cooperatives, Vallentina K Marak distributed Cashew Saplings to the beneficiaries, General Manager, NABARD, J Blah distributed Coffee saplings to coffee beneficiaries of the area.
