Agriculture Information Unit Scheme

What is the Agriculture Information Unit Scheme in Meghalaya?

Agriculture Information Unit Scheme is a State Plan scheme of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of Meghalaya, run through the Directorate of Agriculture. In the 2025 Frequently Asked Questions on Agriculture Schemes the programme appears as Agriculture Information Units and e-Governance, and its stated objective is "to disseminate information on Scientific methods of cultivation to extension staff and farming community through media such as pamphlets, leaflets, radio, television, etc. and participating/ holding awareness programs by means of exhibitions, seminars, etc."

This is an extension scheme rather than an input subsidy scheme. It buys no seed, pays no instalment and builds no structure. What it does is close the gap between what agricultural science knows and what a farmer in a Meghalaya village actually hears about: by printing material, putting it into farmers' hands free of charge, and paying to take farmers physically to places where new practice is on display.

The unit is headed by the Agriculture Information Officer at the Directorate of Agriculture, Cleve Colony, Shillong 793003, whose contact details the department publishes as 0364-2229127 and aio-agri-meg@nic.in.

What do you get under the Agriculture Information Unit Scheme?

The department describes the pattern of assistance as free distribution of information leaflets, package of practices and booklets, including sponsoring farmers' groups and self-help groups for exposure programmes such as trade fairs, expos and exhibitions in and outside the state.

The published list of activities covers:

• Free publications, information leaflets, package-of-practices material, booklets, the farmers' calendar and other departmental publications.
• Farmers' exposure trips, where a group of farmers is taken to see improved practice in operation.
• Sponsorship to participate in trade fairs, exhibitions and Kisan Melas, for farmers and for entrepreneurs.
• Crop competitions, held to identify and reward good cultivation.
• Observation of World Food Day and similar awareness events.
• Dissemination through radio and television, alongside print.

There is no cash entitlement. Nothing under this scheme is transferred to a farmer's bank account. The department meets the cost of printing and of participation; the farmer receives material and a place at an event.

Who is eligible for the Agriculture Information Unit Scheme?

You can get the benefit if:

• You are a resident of Meghalaya.
• You are a bona fide farmer engaged in agriculture. For collecting publications, that is the whole test, the department states plainly that all farmers can avail publication materials.
• You are an agri-entrepreneur. The 2025 FAQ widens the class beyond farmers to "bona fide farmers and entrepreneurs".
• You are a farmers' group or self-help group seeking sponsorship for an exposure programme.
• For events outside Meghalaya, you are a progressive farmer or entrepreneur, that is the stated qualification for out-of-state trade fairs, expos and exhibitions.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a resident of Meghalaya.
• You expect a cash benefit or an input subsidy. Applicants looking for seed, fertiliser, machinery or money are not eligible under this scheme and should look at the department's crop and mechanisation schemes instead.
• You are an ordinary farmer applying for an out-of-state event and cannot show that you are a progressive farmer or entrepreneur. You remain eligible for events within Meghalaya.
• You are a commercial exhibitor or trading company seeking a subsidised stall for business rather than a farmer or agri-entrepreneur being exposed to new practice.

No income ceiling, age limit or caste restriction is published.

How to apply for the Agriculture Information Unit Scheme

For publications there is effectively no application; walk in and ask. For sponsorship, follow these steps. Everything is offline and free.

1. Decide what you are asking for. Free reading material needs no letter. Sponsorship for an exposure trip, Kisan Mela, trade fair or exhibition needs a written request naming the event and its dates.
2. Write the request on plain paper, addressed to the District Agriculture Officer of your district. Include your name, village, C&RD Block, district, mobile number, what you farm or what your enterprise does, and why the event is relevant to your crop or product. If you are applying as a farmers' group or SHG, give the group's name, its registration if any, and the number of members proposed.
3. Route it through a departmental officer. The 2025 FAQ lists the accepted routes as the Agriculture Development Officer of a C&RD Block, the Agriculture Circle, the Agriculture Information Officer, or the Sub-Divisional Officers of the concerned sub-divisions. Take a dated acknowledgement.
4. Follow up before the event. Sponsorship depends on funds being available in that year and on the event calendar. Ask the block office or the Agriculture Information Officer whether your name has been included in the party being sent, and keep your identity documents ready if travel is booked.

How are beneficiaries selected?

The department sets out a two-tier rule.

For publications, selection "does not arise"; all farmers can collect material, on a first come, first served basis while stocks last.

For events, the 2025 FAQ states: progressive farmers and entrepreneurs are eligible to apply for attending trade fairs, expos and exhibitions outside the state; all farmers can apply to attend fairs, expos and exhibitions within the state, subject to availability of funds and on a first come, first served basis.

That distinction is the single most useful thing to know about this scheme. An ordinary farmer will not usually be sent to a national exhibition, but has a clear claim on state-level events and on printed material.

How do you check the status of your request?

There is no online tracker. Check status through the offices you applied to:

• Ask the Agriculture Development Officer of your block whether your sponsorship request was forwarded and to whom.
• Ask the Agriculture Information Officer at the Directorate, on 0364-2229127 or at aio-agri-meg@nic.in, whether the party list for a particular fair or exposure trip has been finalised.
• Ask the District Agriculture Officer whether funds for the exposure component have been released for that year.

Why do requests get rejected, and how do you fix it?

• Funds exhausted for the year. The most common reason, and the one the department states openly — sponsorship is subject to availability of funds. Ask when the next year's programme opens and apply early in it.
• Out-of-state event requested by a non-progressive farmer. Apply instead for an event inside Meghalaya, and build a record, crop competition results, an award, a registered group, that supports a future out-of-state request.
• Applied too late for the event. Fairs and melas have fixed dates and the department finalises its party well in advance. Apply as soon as the event is announced.
• Asked the wrong scheme for the wrong thing. Requests for seed, fertiliser, machinery or cash are refused under this head. Route them to the relevant crop or mechanisation scheme.
• Group has no verifiable identity. An SHG or farmers' group applying for sponsorship should give its registration or a headman's/Nokma's confirmation that the group exists and functions.

When should you apply?

No last date is published, the scheme runs through the financial year. Publications can be collected at any time the block office is open. For sponsorship, timing is everything: apply as soon as an exposure trip, Kisan Mela or exhibition is announced, and prefer the first half of the financial year, because the department's own condition is availability of funds and those funds are committed as the year goes on.

Where do you complain if something goes wrong?

Escalate in this order:

1. Agriculture Development Officer of your C&RD Block or Agriculture Circle, for a refusal to issue free publications or to record your request.
2. Sub-Divisional Officer of your sub-division.
3. Agriculture Information Officer, Directorate of Agriculture, Shillong to 0364-2229127, aio-agri-meg@nic.in. This is the officer who runs the scheme.
4. District Agriculture Officer, and above that the Directorate of Agriculture, Cleve Colony, Shillong 793003, on 0364-2222460 or agri-meg@nic.in. The suggestions and feedback form on megagriculture.gov.in puts a complaint in writing with the department.

No fee is payable for anything under this scheme. Leaflets, booklets and the farmers' calendar are free, and no one is entitled to charge a farmer for inclusion in an exposure trip or a fair delegation.