Raipur, 9 July 2021. On the special initiative of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, after the decision of the state government to purchase Kodo, Kutki on support price and include these crops in the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, now in Chhattisgarh, production of Kodo, Kutki and Ragi in a scientific manner. Preparations are being made to increase ‘Chhattisgarh Millet Mission’. Chhattisgarh government has not only declared the support price of Kodo-Kutki as Rs 3 thousand per quintal, but expanding the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, now farmers taking Kodo-Kutki crop will get Rs 9 thousand per acre and instead of paddy, Kodo- A provision has been made to give 10 thousand rupees per acre input subsidy to the farmers taking Kutki crop, Chhattisgarh is the only state in the country to do so.
It is noteworthy that the main focus of the state-wide millet mission will be in the districts of Bastar and tribal areas of Chhattisgarh. These millets are produced naturally in these districts. With the passage of time, due to lack of availability of good quality seeds and lack of technical guidance, farmers moved away from the production of millets. By increasing the production of millets in tribal areas, especially in Bastar, where the income of the farmers will increase, it will also help in tackling the problem of malnutrition in these areas. In the coming times, millets will become a big force for the farmers of Bastar.
Under the Millet Mission, increasing the area and production of different types of millets like Kodo, Kutki, Ragi etc. in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, various types of products will be prepared through their proper processing and efforts will be made to increase the consumption of millets in the state. will also be done. Through this mission, the availability of nutritious food for children, women and citizens will increase, as well as employment opportunities for farmers, women groups and youth will increase through millet development. Millets produced and processed in the state will be made available for sale in Chhattisgarh as well as other states at reasonable prices.
It is worth mentioning that these millets are produced in some areas of Rajnandgaon, Kawardha and Bemetara and Surguja including Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Jagdalpur, Dantewada and Sukma in the state. To increase the production of millets, improved farming will be promoted by identifying millet clusters in such areas of the state where there is good potential for production of millets. The demand for nutritious millets is now increasing significantly in the country and abroad, so the cultivation of millets will prove to be very beneficial for the farmers of Bastar region. In this mission, women self-help groups will be linked with the cultivation of millets. Along with increasing the production of millets, arrangements for their marketing will be ensured. Small processing units will be set up and packaging units will be set up in the production villages. Kodo in the list of recipes for Gadkaleva to further increase the consumption of millets,
No.-1661 / Solanki
