Buyer-seller meet held to boost SHGs in Siliguri

Siliguri: The West Bengal State Rural Livelihood Mission (WBSRLM) under the Panchayat and Rural Development Department of the state government has organised a buyer-seller meet in Siliguri with the aim of marketing of various products made by Self-Help Group (SHG), Producer Group (PG) and Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) of North Bengal.

Pradip Mazumder, the Minister of Panchayat and Rural Development Department of Government of West Bengal inaugurated the programme on Friday.

Representatives from 26 Groups from different districts of North Bengal and about 36 industrial entrepreneurs participated in the event.

“We have more than 11 lakh SHG groups in West Bengal who are producing a huge number of products. However proper marketing is most important to develop SHGs. Therefore, we have organized this programme, where we introduce buyers with such groups, so, that members of the groups can build good rapport with the buyers,” said the Minister.

This event is aimed at creating a common platform for women farmers to interact with institutional buyers and industry experts, forging stronger connections within the producer-seller ecosystem.

Aarohie Nutri food, a company, signed a MoU with a cardamom-producing group from Darjeeling. They gave Rs 10 lakh in advance to a group for cardamom production for one year. The Minister handed over that cheque to them.

The group is located in the Gidabling Gram Panchayat and they have been producing cardamom, ginger, chilies, honey etc. from 2021.

Last year, the group sold 7563 kg of cardamom, which valued about Rs. 40 lakh 35 thousands. This year, they have a target to generate business of Rs 1 crore.

Meanwhile, another MoU was signed with a group of North Dinajpur producing Tulaipanji rice. Metro Cash and Carry India company signed the MOU of Rs 2 lakh with them for 100 metric ton of Tulaipanji rice that has a

GI certification.