Economy

The economy of Meghalaya is basically agrarian, 81% of the state's population depends on
Agriculture, employment and income generation also depends on Agricultural developmental
activities to a great extent. 
The state receives the highest average annual rainfall in India, 12000 mm. Of the 6,000
medicinal plants in India, 834 plants including the famous Himalayan Yew, are found in
Meghalaya. The state is home to 8 of the top 20 medicinal plants that are traded in India and
are in high demand.
Though, 81% of the population depends on agriculture, the net cropped area is only about
9.87% of the total geographical area of the State. The state is deficit in food grains by 1.22
lakh tonnes annually to feed a population of 2.3 million.
This is due to a lot of constraints, such as the undulating topography, transport and
communication problem, population dispersal pattern, inadequate credit support, poor
marketing system, etc.
Organic Farming
Traditionally Meghalaya is a producer of organic crops with the slash and burn method of
agriculture in practice among farmers for a long time, and they are working towards
certifying them organically produced.
The total area under organic certification in Meghalaya is 48,409 Ha in 2018-19. They
produced 699 MT of organic produce in 2018-19, less than 1 MT of which was exported.
Thus, despite being an organic food hub, farmers in this region are still far from the export
market which could have helped them earn a premium price for their produce.
Key Crops
There are at least four major crops that are grown in about 10000 ha each, in the state,
namely: – Potato, Mandarin Orange, Pineapple, and Ginger. There is also an exclusive niche
market for Lakadong Turmeric. 
Lakadong Turmeric is special variety of turmeric from Meghalaya, which has a curcumin
content of 7-12.32%, as against 2-3% in most varieties of turmeric.
Also, it is a home to many indigenous underutilised fruits with high nutritive and therapeutic
value. The fruits have many positive features but have short shelf life and suffer from poor
storage and transportation problems.
Category Wise Organic Production in 2018-19:

  Quantity (in MT)

Fruits 2
Med. Herbal Aromatic 29.5
Misc. 8
Plantation 10.947
Spices 524.8
Tuber Crops 122
 Vegetables 2.093
Total 699

The food processing industry accounts for only 10 per cent of the total agricultural produce of
the State. 
To tap into this potential, the Government of Meghalaya has embraced a policy of
encouraging and promoting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as growth drivers in the
food processing and related agribusiness space.
To further strengthen this sector, the state had also created a new Directorate of Food
Processing under the Department of Agriculture – perhaps the first state in the country to do
so, with the objective of liaising with and providing the vital linkage between the agriculture
and industrial segments of the state’s economy.
Challenges Faced
Even though the state’s agrarian population stands at a staggering 80 percent, there are many
factors that are holding back the potential of Meghalaya’s agriculture sector.
 Inaccessibility, fragility and marginality of the area.
 Lack of awareness about organic food market although the upland farmers are
producing food organically.
 Nonexistence of proper marketing channel.
 Meghalaya currently has only two government regulated markets in comparison to
Andhra Pradesh (894), Maharashtra (880) and West Bengal (687)
 Lack of processing, post-harvest and value addition facilities- Meghalaya has 946
unorganized manufacturing enterprise in food processing industry.
 Unawareness about organic food production standards, almost negligible linkages
with      agencies dealing with different aspects of organic agriculture.
 Lack of incentives from Govt. machineries.
 Non-identification of accreditation and certifying agency on regional basis.
Government Schemes
Mission Organic- aims to serve stakeholders along the entire organic products value chain,
from organic producers to consumers. Its goal is to inform producers and consumers about
certification and standards, to ensure that these standards are met, to help create a state-wide
movement toward viable and sustainable agriculture that meets the highest standards.
Commodity Specific Missions- It also launched several commodity specific missions to
expand the area under the Lakadong Turmeric, known for its highest curcumin content in the
world and the Jackfruit Mission, to create food processing opportunities around the unutilized
Jackfruit.
Schemes under Directorate of Food Processing- Financial assistance for supporting Agri-
entrepreneurs