-India.Mongabay.com * Millets are being revived in the state of Odisha, on a large scale under its flagship Odisha Millets Mission. Millets grow well in dry zones as rain-fed crops and are considered low-duty crops. * The revival is helping women farmers in the tribal districts of the state to enhance their livelihood opportunities and become financially independent. * In Mayurbhanj, the third most populous district in Odisha, the number of women farmers...

-The Telegraph The story of a reversal that may yet rescue Indians from being hungry and undernourished I first tasted kodo, a coarse foodgrain, when I was barely seven. It was at the home of our Adivasi domestic help in Piska, a roadside railway station near Lohardaga in what was then southern Bihar. The porridge she cooked with kodo, jaggery and a bit of salt tasted much better than the gruel I...

-DailyPioneer.com Under the ‘Millet Mission’ launched by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister to promote the production of minor millets, the target crop production area for next year (2022-23) has been set at 1.17 lakh hectares. At present the production area covers 69,000 hectares. Holding an Inter-Departmental Coordination Committee virtual meeting on Wednesday, Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain asked the officials to prepare a detailed action plan for increasing the area of production of millets. Apart from...

-The Indian Express In rural India, the National Food Security Act of 2013 – which entitles three-fourths of all households to 5 kg of wheat or rice per person per month at Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg, respectively – has reduced the demand for millets. Millets score over rice and wheat, whether in terms of vitamins, minerals and crude fibre content or amino acid profile. They are also hardier and...

-Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Millets are considered as smart crops that are resilient to climate stress and have nutritional advantages. Odisha’s initiative in millets, from farm to plates, has been intervening through four verticals in production (with new agronomic practices), processing, marketing and consumption (includes awareness campaigns and also through inclusion in nutritional programmes). Odisha also started procurement of mandia/ragi (finger millet) since 2018-19. These have important lessons for other states in...