Shillong, Mar 6: State Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Ampareen Lyngdoh on Thursday informed the House of the government to mitigate the farmers while there is volatility in the market where the prices of broom fluctuate and the growers are facing the pressure of loss is engaging in the value enhancement of the produce.
Lyngdoh, replying during the Question Hour, said that the marketing boards collect these brooms from the farmers, store them on their behalf, and wait for the price of the broom to rise.
“We then save for the farmers who are under stress to sell at a low price and sell it to the markets through value enhancement,” the Agriculture Minister told the House.
She also announced that the state government will establish a Rs. 100 crore revolving fund under the CM ASSURE Scheme to help farmers during periods of stress.
United Democratic Party (UDP) legislator from Amlarem, Lahkmen Rymbui wanted to know from the Minister since the government has helped the farmers with Rs. 4.78 crore by procuring 500 metric tons of broomsticks, how much that aid has come back to the government through the value addition of the product.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma while supplementing informed the House that the CM ASSURE Scheme which is meant to intervene to ensure that the market dynamics sometimes may lead to prices falling for various reasons.
“We cannot assess the success of CM ASSURE simply by looking at the profitability of the board that is buying and selling,” Sangma said.
According to the Chief Minister, the larger picture is that the government had intervened and allowed the prices to rise and intervened at a time when the farmers were in distress.
“That is the majority of how we look at the success of this program,” he added.
Sangma said that the primary objective of the CM ASSURE Scheme is to see that the farmers during the time of distress will be supported by the government.
When Congress MLA from Mylliem asked what the intervention schemes on the part of the government to help potato farmers in the state, the Chief Minister said that the CM ASSURE Scheme is mainly for non-perishable items.
Earlier, the Agriculture and farmers Welfare Minister in reply to queries by Rymbui told the House that the total production of brooms in 2022-23 was 66,831 metric tons and in 2023-24 it was 75,680 metric tons.
She also informed that the average price of broom per quintal in 2022-23 was Rs. 12,188, in 2023-24 it was Rs. 8, 400 and in 2024-25 it was Rs. 4, 685.
