The United Democratic Party (UDP) has urged the Meghalaya state government to immediately operationalise the Meghalaya State Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020. UDP general secretary, Titosstarwell Chyne, stated that the effective implementation of the Act could provide a long-term solution to recurring market failures, as farmers across Meghalaya are grappling with a steep crash in the prices of agricultural produce, particularly cabbage.
Addressing reporters, Chyne expressed deep concern over the plight of farmers who have been forced to sell their produce at throwaway prices, distribute it free of cost or simply dump it due to the absence of an effective price protection mechanism. He noted that while the state government has already enacted the Meghalaya State Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the legislation has largely remained unimplemented.
Chyne emphasized that the legislation was specifically framed to protect the interests of farmers and livestock rearers by creating an organised agricultural marketing system capable of ensuring fair pricing and safeguarding cultivators from exploitation. He referred to the provisions of the Act, which provide for the constitution of Market Committees, comprising representatives of farmers and other stakeholders, to regulate agricultural markets, oversee marketing practices and ensure transparency in the pricing of agricultural produce.
The UDP leader also pointed out that the Act empowers the government to introduce a Minimum Support Price mechanism for agricultural commodities, enabling authorities to intervene whenever market prices collapse and prevent distress sales. Chyne urged the government to establish Market Committees in every district and major agricultural market to oversee price regulation, improve market management and protect cultivators from unfair trade practices.
He further called upon the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) to exercise powers vested in it under the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Establishment, Management and Control of Markets) Regulation, 1979, as amended in 2021 and implemented through the Market Rules, 2024. Chyne maintained that the recurring collapse in vegetable prices has exposed the absence of an effective marketing and price support system, adding that unless the provisions of the 2020 Act are fully implemented, farmers would continue to suffer heavy losses and uncertainty every harvesting season.
He stressed that the farming community forms the backbone of Meghalaya’s rural economy, and it is imperative that both the state government and the KHADC act decisively to ensure that farmers are protected from exploitation and guaranteed fair prices for their produce.
