|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
Karnataka agriculture minister highlights benefits of millets in Mumbai
|
Saturday, 16 December, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
|
In a bid to strengthen the millet movement across the country, Karnataka agriculture minister Krishna Byre Gowda elucidated their benefits and encouraged the masses to opt for the same as an alternate food at the Organic and Millet roadshow in Mumbai.
The event witnessed the participation of corporates, including Godrej Nature’s Basket, Parle Agro, Herbalife, Unilever, Marico, Haldirams, Badshah Masala, Kelloggs, Future Consumer, Godrej Tyson, The Leela, ITC Maratha, BEC Foods and Aditya Birla.
The southern state is taking its Millet Revolution lock, stock, and barrel to the rest of the country, with Gowda reiterating about the Organics and Millets 2018 - International Trade Fair, scheduled to take place at Palace Grounds, Bengaluru, between January 19 and 21
Plns are afoot to reach out to other states for a collaborative approach to promote this superfood that can benefit the farmers, the environment and the people.
Millets are great for the environment as well. They are a produce that grows even in marginal lands with low rainfall.
These environment-friendly crops are low cost and require 70 per cent less water than rice to grow and are being cultivated in an area of about 30 million acre in India. But the lack of awareness about this nutritional powerhouse has brought a low market demand.
Recently, Gowda pitched the idea to the United Nations, via the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) during an official visit to Rome, for declaring 2018 as the International Year of Millets.
The suggestion, if agreed, will raise awareness about millets among consumers, policy makers, industry and research and development (R&D) sectors around the world. He aims to take the Organic and Millet message to the rest of the world, with India at the forefront.
Earlier, the Karnataka state agriculture department organised roadshows across the country as a precursor to the Organics and Millets 2018 - International Trade Fair, which aims to take the Organic and Millet message to the rest of the world.
“The Karnataka government’s Organics and Millets call is being answered by farmers across the country,” said Gowda, announcing the fair.
“Overlooked since the Green Revolution of the 1960s, these forgotten foodgrains are making a comeback because of their superior nutritional profile and the fact that they are highly drought-resistant,” he added.
Hailed as a miracle crop, millets were largely wiped out from Indian farms and diets and forgotten, until they made a comeback, thanks to the efforts of the Karnataka government.
The four roadshows in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Delhi, held on October 5, October 24, October 27 and November 27, 2017, respectively, garnered considerable local and national attention, setting off an intense debate around the country on sustainable farming.
The minister said the message Karnataka wanted to convey was simple. “We have to reacquaint ourselves with millets,” he added.
“Incorporating this crop in our diet is one of the panacea for most health aliments we face today. For the past four years, this has been the main mission of Karnataka’s agriculture department,” Gowda said.
Karnataka has an early mover advantage, being the first state in India to formulate an organic policy in 2004.
This policy was further evolved, given the momentum of land under certified organic cultivation grew from 2,500 hectares (in 2004) to 93,963 hectares, paving the way for Karnataka Organic Policy 2017.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|