Mission Lakadong: A ‘Haldi’ Way of Changing Lives in Meghalaya

Meghalaya’s Lakadong turmeric is one of the finest varieties of turmeric in the world and is grown exclusively in the West Jaintia Hills region.

Widely sought after for use in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, its cultivation has immense potential but farmers have long faced multiple challenges in terms of unavailability of planting materials, inadequate storage facilities, weak processing infrastructure, presence of multiple intermediaries and limited access to finance.

2018 saw the launch of Mission Lakadong with an aim to transform the value chain of Lakadong turmeric. The mission focusses on enhancing farmers’ income, building capacities, enabling technology adoption, and strengthening post-harvest and processing infrastructure to enhance farmers’ income.

In the last four years, over 2,500 MT of quality planting material has been supplied to farmers to expand the area under cultivation. This resulted in 68% increase in the area under cultivation for Lakadong turmeric and a 66% increase in production quantity.

To harness the benefits of collectivization, 15 collective marketing centres (CMCs) were established and supported financially with over Rs 4 crore in interest-free loans and over Rs 3.3 crore in grants for undertaking activities such as land development, procurement of machinery, and as working capital support.

These focused interventions enabled the farmers and budding entrepreneurs of the state to be market-ready, leading to the export of Lakadong turmeric to countries like the United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Russia.

To further the efforts undertaken under the mission, processes for geographical indication (GI) tagging and traceability of Lakadong turmeric have been initiated.

Celebrating the mission’s success, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma inaugurated the Lakadong Festival in Laskein Block of West Jaintia Hills.

“Efforts are in place to scale up the existing processing infrastructure to meet international quality standards. In line with the government’s effort to ensure direct benefits to the farmers, we are also assessing the feasibility of promoting agri-tourism in the Lakadong CMCs,” he said.

The inauguration was also attended by Mrs. Trinity Saioo from Mulieh Village, a Padma Shri recipient for spearheading the women-led Lakadong turmeric farming in the state.

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