Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will inaugurate Northeast’s largest organic spice processing plant in Meghalaya today. “Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be on a two-day visit to Meghalaya beginning today.  During her visit, she will inaugurate Northeast’s largest Organic Spice Processing Plant at Bhoirymbong, Ri Bhoi District today. It will be a landmark facility of the Eastern Ri Bhoi Organic Farmer Producer Company. The plant is designed to process 10,346 MT of spices annually, directly benefiting 5,500 organic farmers across the region.

 

The unit aims to boost value addition in organic agriculture, which is one of Meghalaya’s most important agricultural sectors, by bridging the gap between farm output and commercial markets. Later in the day, the Finance Minister is scheduled to attend the inaugural Session of the “Leveraging Externally Aided Projects (EAPs) in the North-Eastern States” Conference in Shillong, which will bring together the Chief Ministers, Chief Secretaries and senior officials from across the Northeast to strengthen the uptake and impact of externally aided financing.

 

She is also set to preside over a ceremony at U Soso Tham Auditorium, along with Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, celebrating Meghalaya’s Externally Aided Projects journey and laying foundation stones for four transformative projects worth a combined over Rs 1,200 crore. This includes the Meghalaya Logistics and Connectivity Improvement Project (MLCIP), the Meghalaya Ecotourism Infrastructure Development Project, the Integrated Ecotourism and Sustainable Agri-based Livelihood Development Project, and Phase II of Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya.