Meghalaya farmer sees Ray of Hope

It was a moment of joy for 36-year-old Revistar Kharumnuid, an organic farmer and a resident of Umtung in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya as he interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and earned appreciation.

He is the CEO of Eastern Ri Bhoi Organic Producer Company Ltd which was formed in 2017 .

On 14th May, Meghalaya Government invited him for a live video conference with the Prime Minister from Secretariat Shillong which was also attended by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

While interacting with Prime Minister, Organic Farmer, Revista Kharumnuid, CEO of Eastern Ri Bhoi Organic Producer Company Ltd said, "I live in village Umtung in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya. I am 36 years old, CEO of Eastern Ri Bhoi Organic Producer Company Ltd. Our company was formed in 2017 under Mission Organic Value Chain Development of NER. We have 500 farmers and we grow our ginger and turmeric organically and all produce is organically certified."

The Company has 500 farmers under it, covering 16 villages in Ri Bhoi District. It focuses on the farming of organic ginger & other organic intercrops & its products are sold on e-commerce platforms like India Mart.

While explaining to the Prime Minister about his business model, Revista said, "We have done processing, we collect all produce from the farmers, we take it to the Farmer Producer Company (FPC) where we have a processing unit, we process it, pack it and label it and then sell these products to the retail chains and companies which are tied up with FPCs when we sell them we get better price rather than selling to the local mandis. "

He further expressed his eagerness to export his product since there is a huge demand for organic products from Meghalaya in the export market.

He also informed Prime Minister Modi about the assistance he has received under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for the registration of our FPC, organic certification and production and training to farmers on capacity building besides other help. Revistar also expressed his gratitude towards the Government of Meghalaya for its support.

Small farmers' organisations will play a bigger role to increase the farmer's income and to support agricultural infrastructure and initiative, inviting various initiatives," Modi said.

Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Meghalaya farmer Revistar has proven that farmers together can generate a successful business model.

While interacting with Meghalaya's Organic Farmer, Revistar Kharumnuid, CEO of Eastern Ri Bhoi Organic Producer Company Ltd via video conferencing, Prime Minister Modi lauded Kharumnuid for his enterprising spirit.

"..We are grateful to you that you have proven that farmers together can generate a successful business mode," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while interacting with Revistar Kharumnuid via video conferencing.

There is an initiative by the centre to set up 10,000 new farmer producer organisations (FPOs) across the country in the next five years.

Prime Minister last year launched a campaign as these FPO will be set up to increase the income of the farmers and to empower them

"At present in the country work has been going on creating 10,000 FPOs and farmers are becoming part of it rapidly. Small farmers' organisations will play a bigger role to increase the farmer's income and to support agricultural infrastructure and initiative, inviting various initiatives," Modi said.

Appreciating the initiative of Meghalaya's farmers, he said, " You have proven, and I believe when from the farthest corner of Meghalaya when you show such great products then surely the buyers will look at you, I wish you all the best."

He was also appreciated by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma who tweeted: "Hon'ble PM @narendramodi Ji also interacted with Meghalaya's #Organic Farmer, Revistar Kharumnuid, CEO of Eastern Ri Bhoi Organic Producer Company Ltd., formed under GoI's #MissionOrganic Value Chain Development of NER. He is thankful to the PM for his words of encouragement."