Meghalaya CM inaugurates state’s first centrifuged latex unit

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Monday inaugurated the State’s first centrifuged latex manufacturing unit at Koksi Nengsat under Songsak Community & Rural Development Block in East Garo Hills district.
This is only the second such facility in the entire Northeast.
The Rs. 18.8 crore project, funded by the Meghalaya Basin Management Agency, is being implemented by the Mendipathar Multipurpose Cooperative Society (MMCS) under the leadership of Sr Rose.
The unit is expected to directly benefit nearly 3,000 rubber farmers across the Garo Hills region by offering fair prices and eliminating middlemen in the rubber supply chain.
“This unit is a boon for Garo hills and the state as a whole, as it will benefit a large number of farmers involved in rubber plantation,” the Chief Minister said.
“Our government’s priority has been to understand the concerns of our farmers and come up with interventions to support them. We have launched several programs and schemes, such as Focus, Focus+, and CM Farm+, to benefit our farmers,” he said,
Informing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a goal to double the income of farmers, he said, “…in Meghalaya, we need to increase it more than double, given the significant dependence on farming. To achieve our target of a $10 billion economy, we need to improve livelihoods and opportunities for our farmers”. Highlighting successful entrepreneurial models in the state, the chief minister pointed to the Nokma ice cream, which produces 1 lakh packets daily, Awang chips processing unit, and mushroom farming in Mendipathar, which are generating employment and creating market linkages.
“These units have benefited farmers in Rongara, Tikrikilla and Mendipathar”, he informed, while adding that the government is setting up 40 such manufacturing and processing unit to benefit the farming communities in the state,” the Chief Minister said.
Acknowledging that the rubber sheets industry faced challenges due to middlemen from outside the region, Sangma hoped that this processing unit would reverse the trend and benefit farmers involved in rubber plantation.
“We urge all rubber plantation farmers to sell their raw rubber to this unit, which will provide the best competitive price and save them time,” he said.
Noting that government jobs are saturated, the Chief Minister spoke of efforts to create an ecosystem that promotes entrepreneurship in the state.
“We need to encourage youth to take up entrepreneurship. Through CM Elevate, we are supporting business ventures and promoting entrepreneurship in the state,” he added.
During the event, the Chief Minister also laid the foundation for Meghalaya’s first fruit dehydration unit to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 23 crore and is expected to be completed by November, 2026.
The facility will process 7,400 metric tonnes of fruit annually, benefiting over 5,000 farmers by reducing post-harvest losses and ensuring better price realisation.