Government promoting millet cultivation in a big way

Kakinada: To revive cost-effective and hassle-free millet cultivation across 11 Agency mandals including four Polavaram submerged mandals, Chintur, Yetapaka, Nellipudi and VR Puram, ATMA (Agriculture Technology Management Agency) has been encouraging tribals to improve food and nutritional security.

The tribals were informed about the inclusion of millets in the Public Distribution System and mid-day meal scheme, promotion of millet cropping system among the farming community, and challenges involved in producing and marketing the coarse grains.

The objective is to promote millet food tradition across all levels and help people drive home the message of long-term benefits of including power-packed millets in the diet,” says ATMA project director
P Padmaja.

She said, “There is a need for a paradigm shift in agriculture and food consumption to arrest malnutrition. Millets like finger millet (ragi), foxtail millet (korra), and little millet (saama) are rich in minerals, proteins, fibre, and vitamins, and play a role in boosting our immune system and can replace rice and wheat in our diet.”

The project is under implementation through ATMA and NGOs as facilitating agencies. The project aims to increase productivity, household consumption, value-addition by making ragi biscuits, idli and dosas, marketing support, setting up of processing centres and establishing Mana Vittana Kendras (seed production centres).

As part of the project, Rampachodavaram, Maredumilli and Y Ramavaram were selected in the first phase. Millets would be grown in 2,000 acres of land in each of these Agency mandals.

ATMA project director P Padmaja said Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Kalavacharla near Rajamahendravaram and Dr Y S R Horticultural University at Pandirimamidi were explaining the benefits of growing millets to farmers. She said the farmers were being educated on consumption patterns particularly among women as part of nutrition security and promotion of Ragi in SRI (system of rice intensification) method.

With the distribution of rice free of cost under the Public Distribution System and drudgery in processing, storage, marketing and lack of minimum support price, most of the farmers preferred to shift to commercial crops like cashew, coffee and sugarcane. In this scenario, ATMA and Krishi Vigyan Kendras becoming active agents of change in rural areas.

Millet crops like ragi, korra, sama and gantelu used to be staple crops in earlier days as part of the food and nutrition security of the tribal people. The State government is implementing a comprehensive project for revival of millet cultivation by tribals in north Coastal Andhra and parts of Rayalaseema.