Renowned chefs of India will teach you how to make new
dishes of Millet
National level experts will discuss the characteristics of millet
Millet start-ups to showcase millet products
Carnival will be organized at Subhash Stadium from 17 to 19 February
Raipur, 15 February 2023
Chhattisgarh Millet Carnival is going to be organized in the state. Renowned chefs of India will teach how to make new dishes of millet and serve it to the guests. This carnival is being organized in the capital Raipur from 17 to 19 February. The carnival will be organized at the local Subhash Stadium under the joint aegis of Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association and IIMR Hyderabad. This unique carnival will have a special millet food court, where common citizens will be able to taste the delicious dishes of millet.
The purpose of the Millet Carnival is to include millet in the daily diet of the people and to create awareness about its nutritional value. The event will have discussions by national experts to share the specialties of millets with the participants and visitors. Also, millet start-ups will display their packaged millet products to generate demand in millets. Apart from this, street plays by educational institutions and cultural programs by local folk artists will be presented every evening to make the young generation aware about the environmental benefits of millet cultivation.
It is noteworthy that after the announcement of celebrating the year 2023 as the International Millet Year, the Millet Mission was launched in Chhattisgarh on January 10, 2022, with the signing of an MoU between ICAR-IIMR and 14 districts in a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. The Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association was also directed to purchase Kodo, Kutki and Ragi at the minimum support price declared by the state government. On this occasion, the Minor Forest Produce Association also tied up with ICAR, under which IIMR became the knowledge partner of the Millet Mission.
Chhattisgarh is the first state where Kodon, Kutki is being purchased at Rs.30 per kg and Ragi at Rs.33.77 per kg. CSIDC has introduced a scheme of 50 percent subsidy on land, plant and equipment in selected blocks to encourage millet based industries. To encourage the production of millet, the state cabinet has announced an amount of Rs 9 thousand per acre under the Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Yojana. This amount will be given to the farmers for cultivation of Kodo, Kutki and Ragi. In order to increase the consumption of millet products in the state, there is a plan to soon include millet products in PDS, Anganwadi and mid-day meals.
In the last one year, the State has made remarkable progress in achieving the target of Millet Mission. Finally, rapid steps are being taken to make Chhattisgarh the millet hub of India. Already in the first year more than 50 thousand quintals of millet has been purchased, so far this year 38 thousand quintals of Kodo, Kutki and Ragi have been purchased at the support price. Twelve small millet processing centers have been established in 10 districts of the state.
With the announcement of the minimum support price, farmers are now getting a purchase price of Rs. 20-25 per kg instead of Rs. 12-15 per kg in the market. Asia’s first millet processing unit with a capacity of 5000 metric tonnes per year has been commissioned in Kanker district.
