Ramie Crop Scheme

What is the Ramie Crop Scheme in Meghalaya?

Ramie Crop Scheme is a State Plan scheme of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of Meghalaya, run through the Directorate of Agriculture. According to the departmental scheme page, the objective is "encouraging cultivation of perennial and remunerative textile crop such as Ramie in suitable areas by providing necessary inputs and training".

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea) is a perennial fibre crop of the nettle family. Unlike jute or cotton, it is planted once and cut repeatedly over several years, which is why the department calls it perennial and remunerative in the same breath, a smallholder who establishes a ramie plot has a standing asset rather than an annual gamble. The trade-off is that ramie fibre needs mechanical processing before it can be sold, and that is the gap this scheme is designed to fill.

The scheme's logic sits against the state's wider fibre-crop picture. The Directorate of Agriculture records that cotton, jute and mesta are Meghalaya's important fibre crops and the traditional cash crops of the Garo Hills. Over the 1990-91 to 2000-01 period, cotton averaged 7,512 hectares and 5,887 bales at 133.36 kg per hectare; jute averaged 4,490 hectares and 33,869 metric tonnes at 1,358.54 kg per hectare; and mesta averaged 4,685 hectares and 21,265 metric tonnes at 816.90 kg per hectare. The department attributes the stagnant or falling yields of jute and mesta to un-remunerative prices, which push farmers into growing them with minimum inputs and operational cost. Ramie is promoted as a higher-value alternative in that context.

What do you get under the Ramie Crop Scheme?

The department states the assistance in two lines. The pattern of assistance is "to provide planting materials, degumming and decorticating machines to the farmers". The type of assistance and entitlement is "quality planting materials, organic manure, bio-pesticides at subsidised rate and farmers' training".

In practical terms that is four things:

• Quality ramie planting material, raised and issued by the department. Ramie is propagated from rhizomes or stem cuttings rather than seed, so the supply of clean planting stock is the first constraint on any new grower.
• Organic manure and bio-pesticides at subsidised rate. The department does not publish a percentage rate for this scheme, so ask your block what the current farmer's share is before you commit.
• Degumming and decorticating machines. Decortication strips the fibre-bearing bark from the cut stem; degumming removes the natural gum that otherwise makes the fibre unusable in a textile mill. These are the steps that turn a standing crop into something a buyer will pay for.
• Farmers' training in ramie cultivation and post-harvest handling.

No cash amount, per-hectare rate or subsidy percentage is published for this scheme by the department. Treat any figure you are quoted informally as unverified until the District Agriculture Officer confirms it in writing.

Who is eligible for the Ramie Crop Scheme?

You can get the benefit if:

• You are a resident of Meghalaya.
• You are a bona fide farmer engaged in agriculture. An actual cultivator.
• You have sufficient available cultivable land. This is the department's stated selection condition, and it matters more here than in an annual-crop scheme, because ramie is perennial and will hold the plot for years.
• Your land is in an area suitable for ramie. The scheme's own wording limits it to cultivation "in suitable areas".

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a resident of Meghalaya.
• You are a fibre trader, mill or textile company rather than a farmer. The scheme supplies cultivators.
• You have no cultivable land available, owned or leased.
• You are seeking a cash subsidy. No cash entitlement is published under this scheme, so an applicant who wants money rather than planting material, inputs, machines and training is not eligible.

How to apply for the Ramie Crop Scheme

Application is offline only, on plain paper, with no fee.

1. Confirm the scheme is operating this year. Ramie is published on the departmental scheme page but is not listed in the department's 2025 FAQ on agriculture schemes. Ask your District Agriculture Officer or the Directorate of Agriculture on 0364-2222460 whether planting material and machines are being supplied in the current year before you plan a plot around it.
2. Write the application on plain paper, addressed to the Agriculture Development Officer of your Community and Rural Development Block or Agriculture Circle. Give your name, father's or husband's name, village, block, district, mobile number, the area you can put under ramie, and what you are asking for: planting material, organic manure and bio-pesticides, training, or access to a decorticating or degumming machine.
3. Attach self-attested copies of your residence proof, your land document or lease paper, and a certificate from the village headman or Nokma that you are a bona fide cultivator of that village.
4. Submit it at the block or circle office and take a dated acknowledgement. Because selection is first come, first served, the receipt date is what protects your place. Follow up with the District Agriculture Officer if the block does not respond within a planting season.

How are beneficiaries selected?

The departmental scheme page states the mode of selection as "bonafide farmers having sufficient available cultivable land on first come first served basis". There is no scoring, no committee and no lottery.

In practice that means two things. First, the block Agriculture Development Officer verifies that you actually hold and farm the land you claim. Second, allotment follows the order in which applications were received, against whatever planting material and machinery the district has that year. Ramie is a small programme, so quantities are limited and early applications matter.

How do you check the status of your application?

There is no online status tracker for this scheme. Check status directly with the officers the department names as contact points:

• Agriculture Development Officer of your C&RD Block, whether the application is registered and forwarded.
• Sub-Divisional Agricultural Officer of your sub-division.
• District Agriculture Officer of your district — whether planting material or machinery has been sanctioned for your block.
• District Training Officer, Shillong or Tura, for the training component.

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

• The scheme is not being funded that year. This is the risk specific to ramie, given its absence from the 2025 FAQ. Ask the District Agriculture Officer directly, and if the answer is no, ask which fibre-crop or crop diversification scheme is running instead.
• No proof of land, or land insufficient. Attach a patta, lease deed or a headman's/Nokma's certificate stating the plot and area. Remember the department's test is "sufficient available cultivable land" for a perennial crop.
• Land not in a suitable area. Ramie needs the right soil and moisture conditions. If the block advises against your plot, ask for a field visit and a written reason rather than resubmitting the same application.
• Applied after planting material was distributed. Ramie planting stock is raised in limited quantity and issued at a set time. Ask to be entered for the next cycle.
• Filed with the horticulture wing. Ramie is a fibre crop and sits with the agriculture wing. Route the application through the Agriculture Development Officer, not the Horticulture Development Officer.

Where do you complain if something goes wrong?

Escalate in this order:

1. Agriculture Development Officer of your C&RD Block or Agriculture Circle.
2. Sub-Divisional Agricultural Officer of your sub-division.
3. District Agriculture Officer of your district, or the District Training Officer at Shillong or Tura for training-related complaints.
4. Directorate of Agriculture, Cleve Colony, Shillong 793003 to phone 0364-2222460, fax 0364-2223228, email agri-meg@nic.in. The suggestions and feedback form on megagriculture.gov.in files a written complaint with the department.

Applying costs nothing, and no agent is entitled to charge a farmer for inclusion in the beneficiary list. The only legitimate payment is the farmer's share of the subsidised cost of planting material or inputs, taken against a receipt.

A note on what could not be verified

Two things about this scheme are worth stating plainly rather than guessing at. First, the subsidy percentage on ramie planting material, organic manure and bio-pesticides is not published. The department says "at subsidised rate" without a figure. Second, the scheme's current status is uncertain: its page is live on megagriculture.gov.in, but it is not among the State Plan schemes listed in the department's own 2025 FAQ document. Both points should be settled with the District Agriculture Officer before a farmer commits land to a perennial crop.