Neighbors Prestina Sankri, Dilip Raba and Murthy Lingdo, who did not know one another 10 years in the past, had one thing in frequent. They had been farmers struggling to promote the fruits of their labor: seasonal Kasi mandarin oranges, cue and queen pineapples, and perennial bananas on roadsides and in weekly markets.
Their lives started to alter after they and 430 others grew to become “distinctive numbers” in 2017 when Jiran Natural Agro Farmers Producer Firm Restricted (FPC) was established to experiment with farm collectivization in Meghalaya. Jiran, the block headquarters within the state’s Ribhoi district, is about 52 km southwest of Guwahati and 120 km northwest of Shillong.
“There could also be others bearing my identify, however as a member of the FPC, there isn’t any one flaunting my farmer code SBORG17MLRBJ06035. This has helped us improve our collective earnings from Rs 150,000 crore in 2017-2021 to over Rs 1.17 billion in 2025,” mentioned Lindo, who owns 1.42 hectares of land. The three.1 hectare farm within the village of Warmois grows natural fruits and seasonings.
The code quantity mentions the natural certification by the New Delhi-based company and the code for the Jiran area of Meghalaya.
Mr. Raba of Skulburia village grows pineapples, oranges, bananas, ginger and black pepper on greater than 50% of his 2.22 hectares of land, and he’s pleased with his farming practices. “From an nameless vendor, I grew to become Exporter No. SBORG17MLRBJ02014, which additionally provides to main retail manufacturers in a number of metropolitan areas of India,” he mentioned.
“Large Leap”
Jiran FPC was established underneath the Centrally Sponsored Mission Natural Worth Chain Improvement for North East Area. CEO and farmer Ibarahun Tankiew mentioned the primary few years had been spent coordinating with fellow farmers and coaching for the “massive leap ahead.”
Members and workers of Jiran Natural Agro Farmers Producer Firm Restricted in Meghalaya are sorting pineapples reserved from a Delhi-based retail model. |Photograph credit score: –
The FPC step by step expanded from its centralized product assortment heart in New Zealand, reaching 433 members in 18 villages, the furthest 25 km aside, and cultivating roughly 500 acres of land. Roughly 75% of members are girls.
“Because the introduction of FPC, our farmers have began charging premium costs for his or her produce. Farmers who used to get 80 models of Kasi mandarin with GI tag at a value of Rs 400-500 now get a revenue of Rs 700-800 and even a bigger one at Rs 1,000. Equally, pineapple, which was offered at Rs 8-10 a bit, is now promoting at Rs 20-25,” she mentioned. Sankyeu mentioned hinduism.
“Extra importantly, after FPC, farmers not should undergo the difficulty of promoting their merchandise on the subdivision headquarters in Pasarkuma, a 5-km hill, or at weekly markets far-off. Now, manufacturers like Reliance Retail, Brinkit, Safar Mom Dairies and others ship their air-conditioned vans to purchase our merchandise,” she mentioned.
Since 2022, when the primary consignment of Jiran’s Khasi mandarin oranges was exported to Dubai, FPC members are incomes between ₹50,000 and ₹80,000 yearly from the fruit alone. As well as, every grows paddy and greens for subsistence and sale.
pulping push
The “massive leap ahead” that the farmers had been making ready for took place after a Rs 2.46 billion aseptic pulp processing facility was arrange in September 2025 at a 2.5-acre assortment heart that additionally consists of chilly storage. That is the primary pulp processing facility to be established in Meghalaya based mostly on an modern community-public-private partnership mannequin, with assist from the Worldwide Fund for Agricultural Improvement and FOCUS. collectivization) program for upscaling of manufacturing and advertising techniques.
“The gear has the capability to course of 10 tons of contemporary fruit per day, and waste has been considerably lowered. Though the standard of the product is assured, our conventional natural strategy doesn’t enable us to stick the product to the uniform dimension and form that our patrons choose. Small and curved fruits, in addition to fruits whose surfaces have been broken throughout transportation from the village to the gathering heart, at the moment are pulped,” mentioned Persevia Ranney, chairman of Jiran FPC.
“Not solely can pulped fruit in purpose-built baggage be bought at aggressive costs, but it surely additionally has an 18-month shelf life, serving to us do enterprise past the pineapple and orange seasons,” he mentioned.
The Meghalaya state authorities, led by Conrad Ok. Sangma, claims that the FPC has turn into a mannequin for profitable farm collectivization, and farmers’ affiliation members will not be the one beneficiaries of the FPC. FPC employs 20 individuals who load, unload, wash and pack fruits for ₹350-450 per day relying on working hours.
Agriculture and horticulture officers within the state say the Jirang mannequin is encouraging villagers in different elements of the state to group collectively to promote their produce at higher costs. Ranney mentioned the mannequin ensures villagers know the fundamentals of market dynamics and are skilled in different facets of farming, equivalent to making ready their very own vermicompost.
maternal power
Jiran FPC’s progress is pushed by Meghalaya’s neighborhood traditions and women-led agriculture. Within the state’s matrilineal society, girls play a central position in cultivation, post-harvest administration, and the farm system, making pineapples and oranges not simply crops however vital sources of family earnings and rural empowerment.
To take women-led companies to the following degree, the state authorities will make investments Rs 295 million in 2024 to launch the Meghalaya Natural Mission, which goals to deliver 100,000 hectares underneath licensed natural cultivation by 2028, benefiting over 90,000 farmers.
Pineapple, one of many mission’s precedence crops, displays its significance in Meghalaya’s horticultural financial system and presently accounts for nearly 25% of the world underneath natural certification.
“Scientific interventions had been carried out to enhance planting supplies, cultivation strategies and productiveness, whereas demonstration farms and inspection visits allowed farmers to undertake the most recent applied sciences with out compromising conventional and sustainable farming strategies,” a authorities spokesperson mentioned.
Fashionable processing infrastructure
“The nation is investing in trendy processing infrastructure and decentralized aggregation techniques to make sure farmers obtain higher costs and scale back post-harvest losses,” he added.
Amongst such amenities are the Megfarm Processing Hub and Tikrikira Prime Hub within the West Garo Hills district, which give round 10,000 farmers with state-of-the-art gear for juice processing, dehydration, deep freezing and storage.
The federal government can be introducing farmers to the circuit of agricultural festivals inside and out of doors Meghalaya to attach farmers immediately with customers, retailers and meals firms. One such occasion is the Meghalaya Pineapple Pageant. Since its launch in 2023, it has emerged because the flagship platform for selling the state’s premium pineapples.
The 2026 version of Pineapple Pageant is scheduled to be held from July 10 to 12 at Dillihaat, New Delhi.
