‘India needs to carry out R&D in millet value chain’
- As the government is propagating millets cultivation and increasing demand, it is expected that more women will get engaged in the cultivation of millets, thereby leading to a need for skilling and capacity building, says a government official
India needs to carry out research and development (R&D) in the millet value chain, according to a senior government official.
“We must carry out R&D in all areas of the value chain of millets and bring together the knowledge of production, processing and storage and make it available to the consumer”, said Vijaya Lakshmi Nadendla, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, addressing the plenary session on ‘Strengthening Millet Value Chain with Collaborative Approach’, organised by FICCI at the Global Millets ( Shree Anna) Conference.
The official further said that improved varieties, better shelf life, efficient processing and access to markets are all vital to strengthen the millet value chain.
Speaking at a separate session on “Opportunity for Women empowerment to create Millet success story”, Nadendla averred that women’s contribution is immense in agriculture, irrespective of traditional, horticultural or any other crop. She added that as the government is propagating millets cultivation and increasing demand, it is expected that more women will get engaged in the cultivation of millets, thereby leading to a need for skilling and capacity building.
Nadendla alluded to the International Year of Millets campaign and said, “I’m very much hopeful that the demand will increase, and the markets will grow. There is also a huge export potential”.
She also spoke on the 10,000 Farmers Producer Organisations (FPO) program of the government, stating the government is “exclusively promoting 100% Women FPOs” and issued a guideline for the inclusion of “one woman on the Board of Directors of each FPO”. She also spoke on the dedicated FPO programme in the Ministry of Agriculture with “various measures for women empowerment.”
On the occasion, Jitendra Joshi, Chairman, FICCI Task Force on Millets & Director Seeds, South Asia from Corteva Agriscience, said, “Millets are nutritionally rich, easy to cultivate and sustainable farmer-friendly crop with no environmental impact. As the PM perfectly narrated that millets are a solution for personal health and global health.”
“Let’s take our millets to the global map,” he added.
Manoj Juneja, Deputy Executive Director and CFO, World Food Programme (WFP), underlined that millet is crucial for food and nutritional security, promoting biodiversity and empowering farmers. “It’s high time we revive the brand of millets and foster resilient food systems”, he said.
Sivakumar S, Group Head – Agri & IT Businesses, ITC Limited, emphasised synchronisation of the millets value chain as a critical requirement for scaling millets. In this regard, “Millets stakeholder partnerships are vital to creating such synchronisation”, he said.
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First Published:19 Mar 2023, 08:33 PM IST
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