Shillong, April 2: North Garo Hills is known for banana cultivation and 90 percent of it is going to nearby Daranggiri market under Goalpara, known as one of the prominent banana markets in Asia.
The fact that Meghalaya and its farmers do not benefit much from the trade in Daranggiri due to middlemen was raised by Kharkutta MLA Rupert Momin in the just concluded Assembly session.
Speaking to reporters, Momin said the farmers from Meghalaya are at the mercy of middle men and the businessmen and hence he is taking up the initiative of direct selling of bananas within North Garo Hills instead of taking them to Daranggiri.
The bananas are transported to West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar.
“In Daranggiri, the businessmen sit in hotels and engage middle who exploit the banana farmers”, he said.
The MLA said to help the Meghalaya farmers from exploitation at Daranggiri market, he has already sought the support of Basin development for direct selling of the produce by the farmers to the businessmen.
“More efforts are needed to ensure that the businessmen buy the bananas directly from the farmers in North Garo Hills instead of Daranggiri”, he said.
