Piggery farmers from across Meghalaya, spearheaded by the Hills Farmer Union (HFU), staged a major public protest rally from near Civil Hospital to Madan Malki in Shillong, voicing growing grievances against the state government following a devastating outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF).
The rally sought immediate government intervention over the financial distress, loss of livelihoods and alleged failures in border control and veterinary support that have left rural farming families across Meghalaya in severe economic vulnerability.
Local pig rearers expressed deep frustration over what they described as the unrestricted entry of pigs and other livestock from outside the state, identifying it as a major source of disease transmission into local farms.
Farmers pointed to a contradiction in government policy. While the state encourages people to take up animal husbandry and rear livestock locally, they said it simultaneously allows an uncontrolled influx of animals from neighbouring regions.
According to the farmers, this has not only contributed to a sharp fall in local meat prices but has also exposed previously healthy herds to deadly and highly contagious diseases.
They said Meghalaya also lacks basic infrastructure to regulate the movement of livestock, including testing facilities, health-screening checkpoints and proper quarantine centres. As a result, incoming animals cannot be adequately screened for diseases or assessed before being introduced into the state.
The human and financial toll of the ASF outbreak has been severe. Female farmers and other local rearers who participated in the protest described how pigs often fall ill and die within one or two days of showing the first symptoms, leaving little or no time for treatment or isolation.
In some cases, entire herds of 20 to 30 pigs have reportedly been wiped out overnight. For farming families dependent on livestock for their livelihoods, the losses have pushed them into acute financial distress.
Many farmers had invested heavily in farm infrastructure, commercial feed and wheat bran. Several had taken bank loans, accessed government schemes or borrowed money at high interest to build their farms.
With their livestock dead and their capital wiped out, they now face serious difficulties in repaying their loans.
A pig farmer from South West Khasi Hills, for instance, said he had taken a government loan in 2023 to purchase 40 pigs. The entire herd subsequently died after the disease struck, leaving him with no income and little capacity to meet repayments under the eight-year loan tenure.
Farmers also criticised the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department for what they described as inadequate preventive action, limited field presence and insufficient emergency support.
According to local rearers, departmental personnel rarely visit rural farms or provide adequate technical guidance on disease prevention, biosecurity and livestock care.
Farmers said they are often left to deal with outbreaks on their own and have to make repeated visits to government offices merely to report losses or seek basic assistance.
Addressing the media during the protest, HFU general secretary Alfon Kharsyntiew said the rally was organised after several unsuccessful attempts to secure an official meeting with both the line minister and the Chief Minister of Meghalaya.
He said repeated delays, attributed to the busy schedules of the stateā€™s political leadership, had left the union with little option but to mobilise farmers publicly.
The union subsequently sought permission from the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of East Khasi Hills District to assemble piggery farmers in Shillong and highlight the impact of the outbreak across the state.
Kharsyntiew said government initiatives such as the Piggery Mission had initially generated considerable hope among Cooperative Societies, Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Producer Groups.
The scheme provided lump-sum, interest-free credit and encouraged farmers to expand local piggery production. However, he said the subsequent spread of ASF had effectively wiped out those gains.
With livestock lost, beneficiaries are now left with substantial loans but little or no income to repay them.
The HFU general secretary also said an independent investigation conducted by the union had identified what it considers serious failures in the implementation of the governmentā€™s own regulatory mechanisms.
The investigation focused particularly on the revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department on August 10, 2023.
Point five of the SOP explicitly requires all livestock entering Meghalaya from outside the state to pass through designated check posts and checkpoints and functional quarantine facilities.
However, Kharsyntiew said field visits conducted by the union at entry points in Ri Bhoi district found no such operational check posts or quarantine facilities on the ground.
The union concluded that the absence of effective border enforcement had created a major vulnerability through which ASF could enter Meghalaya, with devastating consequences for local pig farmers.
Based on ground-level data collected from villages across all districts, the union said more than 1,200 families have so far been documented as severely affected by the outbreak.
The data collection is continuing, with the union planning to compile a comprehensive district-wise report for submission to the state government.
To address the crisis, the HFU has demanded the immediate establishment of functional livestock check posts and proper quarantine centres.
It has also called for a complete loan waiver for all Piggery Mission beneficiaries whose livestock were lost to the outbreak, along with adequate direct financial compensation for individual farmers who suffered severe losses.
The HFU also raised allegations of an organised illegal extortion network targeting livestock transporters at border points, specifically naming the Byrnihat police outpost in Ri Bhoi district.
According to evidence gathered by the union, livestock and cattle trucks entering Meghalaya are routinely stopped and allegedly subjected to unauthorised collections before being allowed to proceed.
The union claimed that transporters are forced to pay amounts ranging from ā‚¹4,000 for pickup trucks to ā‚¹15,000 for full-sized commercial trucks. Vehicles that do not comply are allegedly detained at the check post.
The HFU described what it alleged was a coordinated system for collecting the money. Transporters are allegedly required to make payments online, after which the vehicle registration number is sent to a contact person.
The registration number is then reportedly forwarded through WhatsApp to police personnel stationed at the check post. The vehicle is released only after officers verify through WhatsApp that the registration number appears in the system as having been paid for.
The HFU condemned the alleged practice as harassment of livestock transporters and demanded that the government, through the Deputy Commissioner of Ri Bhoi district, issue an immediate notification stopping such collections.
The union also renewed its demand for a long-pending state Agriculture Policy, saying the demand dates back to a formal memorandum submitted in 2018.
Kharsyntiew warned that if the government fails to address the farmersā€™ demands, including the alleged irregularities at border points, the farming community and the public could return to the streets with further protests.
