Raipur 09 July 2021. On the special initiative of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, State Government has decided to procure Kodo, Kutki and Ragi on support price and to include these crops under Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana. And now taking the next step in the direction, State Government is gearing up to implement ‘Chhattisgarh Millet Mission’ in Chhattisgarh to increase the scientific production of Kodo-Kutki-Ragi. Chhattisgarh Government has declared the support price of Kodo-Kutki as Rs 3 thousand per quintal. And now expanding the scope of Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, State Government has decided to give incentive at the rate of Rs 9000/acre to the farmers for cultivating Kodo-Kutki crop. State Government has also provisioned Rs 10,000 per acre for the farmers who take Kodo-Kutki crop, instead of paddy. Chhattisgarh is the only state in the country to take a decision like this.
The main focus of the Millet Mission will be in the districts of the most malnutrition-affected Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. These millets are produced naturally in these districts. But with time and due to unavailability of good quality seeds and lack of technical guidance, farmers turned away from the production of millets. But now this initiative of Chhattisgarh Government under Millet Mission will not only promote production of millets in tribal areas, especially in Bastar, but will also financially empower the farmers here, while also contributing towards the eradication of malnutrition in these areas. In the near future, millets will become a big force for the farmers of Bastar.
Under Millet Mission, the area and production of different types of millets like Kodo, Kutki, Ragi etc. will be increased in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, various types of products will be prepared through proper processing of millets and consistent efforts will be made to increase the consumption of millets in the state. Millets produced and processed in the state will be made available for sale at reasonable prices in Chhattisgarh as well as other states.
It is worth mentioning that these millets are produced in some areas of Rajnandgaon, Kawardha and Bemetara and Sarguja, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Jagdalpur, Dantewada and Sukma in the state. To increase the production of millets in these areas, improved farming will be promoted by identifying the millet clusters in selected development blocks. The demand for nutritious millets is now increasing significantly in the country and abroad. Hence, the cultivation of millets on a larger scale will prove to be beneficial for the farmers of Bastar region. In this mission, women self-help groups will be also be engaged in the cultivation of millets. Proper arrangements for marketing of the millets produces in Chhattisgarh will be ensured. Small processing units will be set up and packaging units will be set up in the production villages. To further encourage the consumption of millets, indegenous dishes prepared from Kodo, Kutki and Ragi will also be included in the menu of Gadhkalewa.
Raipur : Chhattisgarh is the only state in the country to provide input subsidy on millet production
