Summer harvest draws large crowd at farmers’ market in Shillong

Shillong: The summer harvest of organic agricultural produce — including tomatoes, pineapples, litchis, radishes and other fruits and vegetables abundantly grown in the hillside farmyards in Meghalaya — drew large number of consumers to the sixth edition of the farmers’ market in Shillong on Saturday.The monthly market, organised by 1917 iTEAMS under the state dept of agriculture & farmers’ welfare, with support from the Meghalaya Farmers’ (Empowerment) Commission, has become popular with farmers promoting their organic produce, customers seeking fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables, and tourists alike.“The market reflects the vision of CM Conrad K Sangma to strengthen farmers’ livelihoods and create opportunities in the agricultural sector, promote natural farming, and to give space for an interaction between farmers and consumers directly without middlemen,” an official said.“At every instance, there would be around close to 20 farmers, which means more than 100 farmers from the first to the sixth edition,” said Gavin C Shullai, programme manager of 1917iTEAMS.Thirdamery from Jongksha, East Khasi Hills, said her participation at the farmers’ market is to promote and sell their farm produce “Some of the vegetables are sold directly in the market, while others are marketed through middlemen. We are thankful for the opportunity to showcase and sell our produce here. These produce are organically grown. We look forward to reaching more customers and sell our harvest,” she said.