Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal said that with emphasis on Millets, India is going back to its roots like Yoga.

“Bringing back the glory of millets will make the country Aatmanirbhar in 3 areas-Food, Nutrition & Economy,” Shri Goyal said.

Following the Prime Minister’s address on the positive impact of Union Budget 2022 in the Agriculture sector, Shri Goyal addressed the webinar on ‘Smart Agriculture: Bringing Back Glory of Millets; Moving Towards Aatmanirbharta in Edible Oil’.

He gave four Mantras to make India a leading exporter of Millets. “1) States can duplicate the success of Karnataka’s Fruits Model for crop diversification with a focus on millets, 2) Collaboration with Agri Startups to provide the latest tech to ensure quality & aid in bio fortification of millets, 3) Launch Campaigns to create awareness regarding Health and Nutrition benefits of millets in families and 4) International Outreach to promote Brand India Millets,” he said during his address.

Stressing that India produces all 9 common millets, the Minister pointed out that India is the 2^nd-largest producer and 2^nd-largest exporter of millets in the world.

He added that the Government has taken reformative steps which have led to the highest procurement of food grains from farmers at MSP-KMS 2021-22 benefitted 64 Lakh farmers while RMS 2021-22 benefitted nearly 48 Lakh farmers.

Pressing on the Centre’s efforts, he said nearly 4 Lakh hectare area of rice fallow is to be used for oilseeds cultivation in 100 districts of 10 states. Also, 230 high-yielding districts of oilseeds have been identified. Nearly 20 lakh hectares area will also be brought under intercropping of oilseeds in next 5 years.

“Today, India is set on a path to become Aatmanirbhar. In this mission, the Government is working towards realizing the image of a self-reliant farmer with the best crops,” Shri Goyal said adding that Smart Agriculture is about using technology to leapfrog into a new era to build a resilient infrastructure for farmers.

Dr. T Mohapatra, Secretary Department of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE) and DG, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) during his presentation said that the Year 2023 has been announced as the International Year of Millets. He said that support will be provided for post-harvest value addition, enhancing domestic consumption & branding millets products nationally and internationally.

Global status of Millets: Area and Production region-wise (2019)

• India produces >170 lakh ton (80% of Asia’s & 20% of global production).
• Global average yield: 1229 kg/ha, India (1239 kg/ha).

Vilas Tonapi, Director, Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) talked about ‘Blueprint for International Year of Millets 2023’ followed by Dr. Hemlata, Director, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) who spoke on ‘Nutritive Values of Millet Products’, Dr. Manjit Gill, President, Indian Federation of Culinary Association shared about ‘Millet Product Recipe Development & Popularization’, Dr C. Anantha Ramakrishnan , Director, NIFTEM talked on ‘Promoting Millet Value Added Products’,  Atul Chaturvedi, President SEA discussed ‘Case of Aatmanirbharata in edible Oil’, Davish Jain, Chairman, SOPA spoke about ‘Self Reliance in Soybean’ and Dr. Balram Singh Yadav, MD, Godrej Agrovet delivered his lecture on ‘Future of Oil Palm’.

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DJN/AM/NS