‘Superfood’ millet gets government’s backing

New Delhi: Millets are food grains having high nutritional features and health benefits and are cultivated with minimal water and inputs.  They are cultivated across the country in various agro-ecological regions, have less infestation of pests and diseases and thus can be grown easily as organic crops.  Consequent to the initiative of the Government of India, the United Nations has declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYOM).  This will create both domestic and global demand and enhance exports from India. 

To give impetus to the export of potential products as well as to remove the bottlenecks in the supply chain of Nutri cereals, the Government, through the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), has created the Nutri Cereals Export Promotion Forum. This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in the Lok Sabha today.

The production of millets has increased from 17.26 million tonnes during 2019-20 to 18.02 million tonnes in 2020-21. Under the National Food Security Mission (NFMS) programme, the NFSM-Nutri Cereals is being implemented in 212 districts of 14 states. Under NFSM, assistance is given through state governments to farmers for interventions like cluster demonstrations on an improved package of practices, demonstrations on cropping system, distribution of seeds of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs)/hybrids, improved farm machinery/resource conservation machinery/tools, efficient water application tools, plant protection measures, nutrient management/soil ameliorants, processing & post-harvest equipment, cropping system based training to the farmers etc.

The mission also provides support to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs)/Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) for the technology backstopping and transfer of technology to the farmer under the supervision of Subject Matter Specialists/Scientists. The research organizations are supported for undertaking research projects that can help enhance the production and productivity of food crops. The State Governments can also promote the cultivation of millets under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana –Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture & Allied sector Rejuvenation (RKVY- RAFTAAR) with the approval of the State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) constituted under the chairmanship of the chief secretary of the State.

To improve acreage, production and productivity of millets across the country, the ICAR through its nodal research institute on millets, Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad is giving emphasis on the development of high yielding climate-resilient new varieties/hybrids which are tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses with enhanced quality. The Government is popularizing Nutri-cereals through Research &Development support and has established 3 Centres of Excellence (CoE). Support is also given to start-ups and entrepreneurs for developing recipes and value-added products that promote the consumption of millets.

In order to facilitate the movement of the millets, the Government has revised the guidelines for the movement of the surplus production of millets to other States. The provision of inter-state transportation of surplus millets through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is incorporated to cater for advanced demand placed by the consuming state before the start of procurement.

– global bihari bureau