Thursday, 13 April 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the outlook of the people towards millets is changing and the farmers are now getting better prices for millets. He was addressing a national seminar on Millets- Potential and Opportunities’ in Mussoorie on Wednesday. The CM expressed confidence that the deliberations during the seminar would help in the success of the objective of the International year of millets. He said that on one hand the millets are useful for the farmers for their low production costs and on another they are necessary for everyone because of high nutrient value.
The CM said that it is a matter of pride for the country that the United Nations has declared the year 2023 as International Year for Millets due to the efforts made by India. He said that many start-ups on millets have started which are helping farmers and generating employment. The CM said that it is for nothing that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has named millets as ‘Shree Ann’ because Shree brings a sense of completeness, victory and prosperity. Dhami said that the State government is encouraging farmers to take up millet farming by the government schemes. The Uttarakhand Agriculture marketing board and cooperatives department is procuring the millets such as finger millet ( Mandwa), barnyard millet ( Jhangora) and Amaranth grain ( Cholai) at minimum support price (MSP) from the farmers in the mountainous areas.
Online payment to the farmers is being made which is encouraging farmers to take millet farming. He said that it is important to promote millet farming as per the environment of Uttarakhand so that the State archives top position in the country in millet production. He also exhorted the people to use millet products in festivals and in their diet.
The agriculture minister Ganesh Joshi said that a new interest for millets has been generated in the world and in India the people are enthusiastic about Shree Ann ( millets) after the initiative taken by PM Modi on millets. He said that the Uttarakhand government has fixed the MSP of finger millet ( Mandwa) at Rs 35.78 and it is also being distributed through the ration shops under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Joshi said that the State government has taken a target to double the production of millet by the year 2025.
The agriculture minister of Madhya Pradesh Kamal Patel and others were also present on the occasion.
