Kodo, Kutki, Ragi cultivation got boost due to Millet Mission
Farmers got income of one crore 28 lakh rupees by selling kodo
seeds Kodo seed producing farmers increased five times in a year
Four fold increase in income from seed sale
Chhattisgarh has got the honor of the country’s best emerging state in the matter of promotion of millets.
Raipur, 21 November 2022
Due to the Chhattisgarh Millet Mission, the farmers’ interest in the cultivation of Kodo, Kutki and Ragi (Millets) has increased rapidly in the state. Millets, which were earlier sold at half price, are now being sold at good prices in the state of Chhattisgarh. Due to the special initiative of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, farmers have started earning crores of rupees due to the purchase of millets in the state at the support price. In the last season, farmers had sold 34298 quintals of millets at the support price for Rs 10 crore 45 lakh. Chhattisgarh is the only state in the country, where Kodo, Kutki and Ragi are being procured at the support price and the work of its value addition is also being done. Kodo-Kutki is being procured at the rate of Rs.3000 per quintal on the support price and ragi is being procured at the rate of Rs.3377 per quintal.
With the help and guidance of the Chhattisgarh State Seed Certification Institute, farmers have started earning substantial profits by producing certified seeds of Kodo. In the last one year, the number of farmers producing certified seeds has increased almost 5 times and the income from this has increased 4 times. In the year 2021-22, 3089 quintals of certified seeds were produced by 171 farmers from 11 districts of the state, which the Seed Corporation purchased from the farmers at the rate of Rs. 4150 per quintal and paid them an amount of more than one crore 28 lakh 18 thousand. Have done Certified seeds produced by the farmers of the state are being supplied for sowing through cooperative societies.
Mr. AB Asana, Additional Director of Seed Certification Institute, said that in the year 2020-21, only 716 quintals of certified seeds were produced by 36 farmers of 7 districts in the state. Due to this, the producer farmers had earned an income of Rs 32 lakh 88 thousand, while in 2021-22 the number of Kodo seed producing farmers and the profit from the sale of seeds have increased manifold. In the last three years, Kodo certified seed producing farmers have sold seeds worth Rs 1 crore 65 lakh 18 thousand 633 to the Chhattisgarh Seed Development Corporation.
Additional Director Mr. Asana told that cultivation of Kodo is more beneficial in such agricultural land where the production of paddy is nominal. Kodo cultivation requires less water and less fertilizer. As a result of which the cost of its cultivation is very less and the profit of the productive farmers is more. He informed that in the year 2019-20 only 103 quintals of certified seeds were produced in the state. Since the implementation of the Millets Mission, the Chhattisgarh State Seed Certification Institute, in coordination with other government institutions, is making continuous efforts to promote Kodo seed production, due to which the seed production is continuously increasing.
It is worth mentioning that the state of Chhattisgarh has also received the National Level Nutritious Grain Award 2022 for promoting the cultivation of millets. To promote millets production in the state, it has been included in the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana. Millets producing farmers are also being given exchange assistance of Rs 9 thousand per acre as an incentive.
The cultivation of Kodo, Kutki and Ragi is being continuously expanded in the state, due to which the area under its cultivation has increased from 69 thousand hectare to one lakh 88 thousand hectare in the state. Keeping in mind the promotion of millet cultivation, training of farmers, availability of high quality seeds and increase in productivity, the Millet Mission is being run in the state. 14 districts have signed a tripartite MoU with IIMR Hyderabad under the Millet Mission with the efforts of the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association. Under the Chhattisgarh Millet Mission, a target has also been set to increase the productivity of millet from 4.5 quintals per acre to 9 quintals ie doubling.
