Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has called for investment in piggery in the state as there is a huge demand for pork in the North East region.

"The total consumption of pork in the North East is 3.1 lakh metric tonne and the supply is only 1.2 metric tonne. So there is a deficit of about 1.9 lakh metric tonne of pork," he said, while addressing a stake holders workshop on Piggery and poultry value chain on Friday.

The Chief Minister said there is an opportunity for our farmers, to fill the deficit in the supply chain.

"Investing in piggery will greatly improve the livelihood options of the 1.62 lakh farming households directly engaged in rearing pigs in the state," he said.

Stating that promotion of nano and micro enterprises is a key strategy for employment generation and fostering growth, the chief minister said the state government is working to set up an ecosystem that will provide the whole range of services needed by aspiring entrepreneurs.

"We understand that access to credit is a fundamental challenge in the state and we are in the process of setting up a fund for promotion of livelihoods and nano enterprises with a corpus of Rs 10 crore. The fund will provide both small grants and soft loans thus enabling entrepreneurs to access larger sums from the formal banking system," he said.

The Chief Minister also told the gathering that Smart village project is another new initiative that has been approved by the government.

He said the government will sign an MoU with the University of Berkley, California to provide technology support for developing Smart Villages in the state and has proposed an allocation Rs 11 crore for the same.