ASEAN-India Millet Festival 2023
Source: PIB
GS III: Food Crops
Overview
- What are millets?
- Steps taken by India to promote millet production
Why in the News?
India has launched a Millets Festival in Indonesia to raise awareness for millets.
News in Brief
- The exhibition aims to foster collaboration between ASEAN countries, celebrate cultural and culinary diversity and promote sustainable millet practices for a healthier future.
- It is also a step towards the implementation of the ASEAN-India Joint Leaders Statement on Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises adopted at the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2023.
What are millets?
- Millets are a group of small-grain cereal food crops popularly known as Nutri-cereals.
- Varieties: These include Jowar, bajra, ragi/ mandua, the minor millets — kangani/ kakun, cheena, kodo, sawa/ sanwa/ jhangora, and kutki — and the two pseudo millets, buckwheat (kuttu) and amaranth (chaulai).
Condition for Millets (Shree Anna) Cultivation
- Climate: The Millets are grown in tropical as well as subtropical up to an altitude of 2,100 m. A mean temperature range of 26-29°c during the growth is best for proper development and good crop yield.
- Soil: Millet has wide adaptability to different soil types, from very poor to very fertile and can tolerate a certain degree of alkalinity. The best soils are alluvial, loamy and sandy soil with good drainage
Benefits of Millets
- Eco-friendly crops: Millets can grow on arid lands with minimal inputs and are resilient to changes in climate.
- Highly nutritious: Millets contain 7-12% protein, 2-5% fat, 65-75% carbohydrates and 15-20% dietary fibre.
- Health Benefits: Millets are gluten free and non- allergenic. Millet consumption decreases triglycerides and C- reactive protein, thereby preventing cardiovascular disease.
- Reduce import dependence: They are an ideal solution for countries to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported cereal grains.
Steps taken by India to promote millet production
- International Year of Millets: India spearheaded the UN General Assembly Resolution for declaring the year 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’.
- Agri-Infrastructure Fund: Government is popularising the Agri-Infrastructure Fund Scheme to invite farmers/FPOs/Entrepreneurs to avail the benefit of interest subvention on loans up to 2 crores for setting up primary processing units in millets.
- Higher Minimum Support Prices (MSP): To encourage farmers to take up millet cultivation,higher MSP to Jowar, Bajra and Ragi Has been announced.
- Production Linked Incentive Scheme: The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has approved the PLI Scheme for Food Processing Industry for Millet-based products for implementation during 2022-23 to 2026-27.
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