Bhubaneswar: Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Monday asked agriculture scientists to develop high-quality millet seeds to make it a profitable crop so that farmers can divert towards it.
Chouhan said this while addressing the international symposium on Shree Anna (Millet) and Woman Farmer here on the occasion of ‘Mandia Divas’ (Millets Day).
The farmers are looking for crops which will give them better financial benefits. So, it is a challenge before us to make millet a profitable crop so that the farmers can divert toward the cultivation of millets, he said.
Odisha has done good work by enhancing the millet production from 6 quintal per hectare to 12 quintal per hectare and surpassed the national average, he said.
Still, there is a huge task before our scientists to further improve the quality of the millet seeds and reduce the cultivation cost to enhance production. We will continue our efforts in this regard in the coming days, the union minister said.
He also emphasised on processing of the crop so that farmers, especially women farmers, get maximum benefit of the crop at the ground level.
Further, the states need to procure millets from farmers to promote the crop, Chouhan said, adding, Odisha is the only state in India that is procuring millets from farmers at minimum support price (MSP).
Odisha has also served millet to school-going students under the mid-day meal scheme. It should be expanded to other states to promote a healthy habit among children, he stressed.
Stating that the Odisha government has taken a leadership role to show the path to other states in millets, the Union Agriculture minister said he will take the Odisha model on millets to the national level and also to other states.
Fertilisers, chemicals and pesticides are not only bad for human health, but they also affect the health of our soil and contribute towards climate change, he pointed out.
So, one day, all have to move towards organic farming, and millet cultivation is a step in this direction, he added.
He assured that the government of India will provide all support to the state for further promotion of millets.
Speaking on the occasion, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said millet cultivation was initially started in about 30,000 hectares and now it has been expanded to all 30 districts of the state.
Millet or ‘Madia’, which was known as a tribal food, has now been promoted as a ‘super food’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, adding that the tribal and women farmers will benefit from the move.
The Odisha government had launched a millet mission to promote the crop, and the state is providing input subsidy of Rs 26,500 per hectare to the farmers, Majhi said.
Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo said Odisha is providing end-to-end support to millet farmers with a comprehensive input subsidy.
Millets are deeply rooted not just in our soil but also in our culture and tradition. Women farmers are truly the heart of our agricultural legacy. They have been the guardians of seeds and biodiversity conservation across generations, he said.
Through SHGs and community seed centres, the women farmers of the state are actively conserving traditional crops and reviving culinary traditions that connect to our roots. They ensure the transfer of this invaluable knowledge to the next generation, said Singh Deo, in charge of the state Agriculture Department.
Among others, World Food Programme (WFP) country head Elisabeth Faure, chairperson of M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Soumya Swaminathan, and director general of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Yvonne Pinto spoke at the inaugural session of the two-day conference.