HORTICULTURE (ODOP)

District Nodal Officer:

Smt. T.M. Momin

District Horticulture Officer, South Garo Hills, Baghmara.

Nodal Department:

Department Of  Agriculture, Directorate of food processing, Shillong Meghalaya.

Dedicated Team:

Shri. Carlos D Sangma, Horticulture Development Officer (Head quarter).

Shri.  Antirony K Sangma Technical Assistant.

Smt. Lezia D Marak District resource Person, all under the Office of District Horticulture Officer, South Garo Hills, Baghmara

Dedicated help line or Call center/Support desk for ODOP:

• 7005742798
• 7085400578
• 7630992893

ODOP initiative: product list, Action plan.

Action Plan:

Jackfruit is one of the neglected tree crops in the state of Meghalaya. Though the fruit is available from January end to August/September the crop does not figure in the list of fruit crop intervention in the list of line departments. The Garo Hills region of the State has tremendous potential to produce huge number of jackfruits but due to lack of intervention, suitable infrastructure, processing. packaging and market access, enormous quantities of Jackfruit are wasted every year. Value

addition of jackfruit is still a new concept in the district and market penetration of the value-added end products is still not there in the Northeastern Region due to lack of awareness and the fact that the ripe fruit in its original form is difficult and bulky to handle However this is a golden opportunity to tap into the latent market for jackfruit value added products like canned bulbs, chips. papal, juices. flour etc and would give the district a first mover advantage.

The district is privileged to get the Jackfruit as the ODOP crop due is abundant available in the district, the district has the vast challenges ahead to bring the jackfruit raw form into value addition form and golden opportunity to tap into the latent market for jackfruit value added product.

The action plan for ODOP

1. Go Mobile Village level awareness & skill building.
2. Awareness campaigns/Melas: Annual melas/campaigns to spread awareness about the fruit and its potentialities.
3. District Jackfruit Festivals
4. Exposure visits: Exposure visits will be conducted for the entrepreneurs and will be sent for exposure and training to places where jackfruit cultivation and value addition is being done on a commercial scale.
5. Packaging, branding, and marketing.
6. Planting Material: District lacks early fruiting varieties which are suitable for processing as vegetables. Grafted varieties developed by UAS and Kerela can be introduced in the district and multiplied in nurseries.
7. Jackfruit cluster formation: For the processing and value addition of the fruit to take off on a commercially viable scale there is a need to create agro processing clusters that can function as collection/aggregation centers located within the producing areas and to encourage entrepreneurs and the formation of FP0s/FIGs or cluster groups that can take on the responsibility of aggregation and perhaps to a certain extent carry out primary or minimal processing of the fruit before shipping it to a larger facility
8. Area Expansion: Furthermore, in view of the well-known property of Jackfruit to ameliorate soil moisture regimes and its climate change resiliency, clusters and villages will be encouraged to take up systemic area expansion of the tree for catchment areas.

List of activities and ODOP sensitization workshop being undertaken by district administration under ODOP initiative.

List of Mentors Registred with districts to provide mentorship to beneficiaries.

1. .Shri. Chengren D Sangma, Project Manager Disrict Commerce and Industries Centre, South Garo Hills, Baghmara. Mobile Number: 8414061746.
2. Carlos D Sangma, Horticulture Development Officer (Head quarter), Mobile number: 6909748113.
3. Antirony K Sangma Technical Assistant, Mobile number:6009095336/7085400578.
4. Lezia D Marak District resource Person, all under the Office of District Horticulture Officer, South Garo Hills, Baghmara, Mobile Number: 7005742798.

Mentorship support available with clearly laid out procedure to avail the same

1. Shri. Chengren D Sangma, Project Manager Disrict Commerce and Industries Centre, South Garo Hills, Baghmara. Mobile Number: 8414061746
2. Carlos D Sangma, Horticulture Development Officer (Head quarter), Mobile number: 6909748113
3. Antirony K Sangma Technical Assistant, Mobile number:6009095336/7085400578
4. Lezia D Marak District resource Person, all under the Office of District Horticulture Officer, South Garo Hills, Baghmara, Mobile Number: 7005742798.

Funding support available:

1. PMFME: contact the Smt. Lezia D Marak District resource Person under the Office of District Horticulture Officer, South Garo Hills, Baghmara, Mobile Number: 7005742798.
2. For Any Scheme under Directorate of Food Processing: Shri. Carlos D Sangma, Horticulture Development Officer (Head quarter), Mobile number: 6909748113
3. PMEGP : Chengren D Sangma, Project Manager Disrict Commerce and Industries Centre, South Garo Hills, Baghmara. Mobile Number: 8414061746