Fruit Processing Centre Scheme

What is the Fruit Processing Centre Scheme?

Fruit Processing Centre Scheme is a state plan scheme of the Directorate of Horticulture under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of Meghalaya. According to the department's Compendium of State Plan & Centrally Sponsored Schemes, the scheme has two stated objectives: "to disseminate technical knowhow to youths entrepreneurs, farmers and housewives through practical demonstration on the importance of fruit preservation", and "to manufacture quality processed fruit products such as Squashes, Jams, Jelly, canned fruits and Juices under the trade name 'Meg' fruits products".

That second objective explains why this scheme looks different from most farmer schemes. The Fruit Processing Centres are working production units, not classrooms. They buy in and process part of the state's marketable fruit and vegetable surplus, sell the output under the government's own "Meg" brand, and train people on the same equipment and the same product lines.

Where the centres are

The Department of Agriculture states that it has set up 2 units, one at Shillong and the other at Dainadubi, to process part of the marketable surplus of fruits and vegetables in the state.

What is made there

The department lists the centres' output as fruit juices, pulp, syrups, jams, jellies, squashes, marmalades, ginger-based products, tomato ketchup and pickles. The equipment in use, and therefore the equipment trainees learn on, includes stainless steel pans, stoves, weighing scales, juice extractors, wooden ladles, pineapple punchers, refractometers and thermometers.

What a participant gets

• Practical demonstration training in fruit preservation and processing.
• Awareness and capacity building on fruit and vegetable processing, which is how the compendium records the entitlement.
• Value addition training at cottage scale, which the department describes as aimed at creating employment opportunities for local unemployed educated youth.

There is no cash grant, subsidy percentage or unit-cost assistance published under this scheme. Its entitlement column in the departmental compendium reads "Awareness, Capacity building on fruit and vegetable processing" and nothing more. Anyone promising a rupee benefit under the Fruit Processing Centre head should be treated with suspicion.

Alongside this, the Directorate of Horticulture runs a related Fruit Processing scheme whose objective is utilisation of surplus fruit and vegetables and their conversion into marketable processed products such as jam, jelly and squashes, "thereby creating a market for fruit growers". Its entitlement is a training programme for fruit processing entrepreneurs, educated unemployed youth and housewives, and it carries an explicit land condition of own or leased land of at least 0.2 hectares. The two run through the same officers, and the same visit to a Horticulture Development Officer covers both.

Who is eligible for fruit processing training in Meghalaya?

You can apply if:

• You are a bonafide farmer of Meghalaya engaged in agriculture. The eligibility stated in the compendium for this scheme.
• You hold own or leased land of at least 0.2 hectares, the condition applied across the Directorate of Horticulture's state plan schemes including the related Fruit Processing scheme.
• You are a youth entrepreneur, an educated unemployed young person or a housewife whom the scheme's objective and the related Fruit Processing entitlement expressly name as intended trainees.

You cannot apply, or the scheme will not help, if:

• You are seeking a cash grant or a subsidy on machinery. No monetary entitlement is published under this scheme; it delivers training and demonstration only.
• You want the centre to process your fruit on contract. The units process part of the state's marketable surplus under the government's own brand; they are not a job-work facility available on demand.
• You want finance to set up a private processing unit. That belongs to other schemes: see the section below.
• The batch is full. Selection is first come, first served, and the state has only two centres.

What documents are required?

The Directorate of Horticulture publishes no fixed document checklist for this scheme; its stated requirement is a plain paper application. The rest of the list reflects what block and district horticulture offices ask a first-time applicant to bring.

How to apply for the Fruit Processing Centre Scheme

1. Ask about the next batch. Contact the Horticulture Development Officer of your CD Block or Horticulture Circle, or the Assistant Director of Horticulture in charge of Fruit Processing Centres, to find out when training is next scheduled at Shillong or Dainadubi.
2. Write a plain paper application stating your name, village, block and district, your land holding, and the training you want: fruit preservation, value addition, or a specific product line such as squash or jam making.
3. Attach your land proof and bonafide certificate.
4. Submit it through the Horticulture Development Officer of your CD Block or Horticulture Circle. Meghalaya has 39 CD blocks and 6 horticulture circles. The District Horticulture Officer is the deciding authority.
5. Get an acknowledgement with the date, since selection is first come, first served.
6. Attend the training at the centre when called, and keep any certificate or completion record issued — it is useful evidence when applying later for processing finance under other schemes.

How do I check the status of my application?

Meghalaya runs no online tracker for horticulture training. Follow up directly:

1. Return to the Horticulture Development Officer who received your application, quoting the submission date.
2. Contact the Assistant Director of Horticulture in charge of Fruit Processing Centres, the officer named for this scheme in the compendium.
3. Escalate to the District Horticulture Officer of your district.
4. Call the Kisan Call Centre on 1800-180-1551, open 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily including Sunday.

Offices work 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM in summer and 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM in winter.

What if I want money to start a processing unit?

This is the most common misunderstanding about the scheme, so it is worth stating plainly: Fruit Processing Centre Scheme does not fund private processing units. If capital is what you need, ask your District Horticulture Officer about these instead:

• MIDH: Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan Region (HMNEH), which covers post-harvest management, processing, marketing and market infrastructure, delivered as grant-in-aid and subsidised sales of inputs, with the Managing Director of MgSFAC among its named contacts.
• Post Harvest Marketing, which gives farmer groups, SHGs, cooperative societies, FIGs and FPOs evacuation facilities such as a pick-up truck or mini truck at Rs 2 lakh per group or SHG at 50% subsidy, and village-level post-harvest management training with a daily allowance of Rs 189 per farmer per day.
• Mission Organic Value Chain Development for the North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), which supports the value chain from inputs and certification through to collection, aggregation, processing, marketing and brand building.

Common reasons applications do not succeed

• Batch already full. With only two centres serving the state, capacity is the binding constraint. Apply early and ask to be listed for the following batch.
• Land condition not met. The horticulture wing's schemes turn on own or leased land of at least 0.2 hectares; attach documentary proof.
• Wrong wing approached. Fruit processing sits with the Directorate of Horticulture. An application filed with an Agriculture Development Officer rather than a Horticulture Development Officer loses time.
• Expecting a cash benefit. Applications framed as requests for a grant do not match the scheme's entitlement and will not be met from this head.
• Scheme not sanctioned that year. The compendium cautions that continuation of any scheme in a particular year is at the discretion of the State Government, and advises farmers to check availability with the District Horticulture Officer.

What are the key dates?

Fruit Processing Centre Scheme carries no published last date to apply. Intake follows the training calendar of the Shillong and Dainadubi centres rather than a fixed annual window, and participants are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Practically, training demand rises around the state's main fruit flushes: pineapple, orange and other seasonal produce, because that is when surplus is available to work with, so registering an interest ahead of the season is more effective than applying during it.

Where do I go for help or to complain?

• Kisan Call Centre: 1800-180-1551, 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily, including Sunday.
• Assistant Director of Horticulture, in charge of Fruit Processing Centres. The scheme's operating officer.
• District Horticulture Officer of your district.
• Director of Horticulture, Cleve Colony, Government Fruit Garden, Shillong-793003 to telephone (0364) 2227464, email hort-meg@nic.in.
• Written grievances to the District Agriculture Officer of your district during office hours, or directly to the Director of Horticulture at headquarters.
• Online grievances on the state government grievance portal at mii.nic.in.

No fee is published for this training, and no agent is authorised to charge for a place at a Fruit Processing Centre.