ASEAN India Millet Festival : Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda inaugurated ASEAN-India Millet Festival today at New Delhi. Ministers of State Welfare Kailash Choudhary and Shobha Karandlaje were were also present on the occasion. In line with the International Year of Millets, the festival aims to increase awareness and establish a larger market for millet and millet based products.
Addressing the event, Union Minister highlighted the government policies and market innovations to promote the production and consumption of grains. Shri Munda said that millet provides innumerable benefits to farmers, consumers and the environment and makes an important contribution to global food-nutrition security.
Mr Munda stated that this program reflects the vibrancy of millets and its immense potential in transforming agriculture and nutrition. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India has played an important role in organizing the mega event of International Millets Year 2023. This concerted effort transcended boundaries and transformed the event into a global milestone of unparalleled significance.
Prime Minister Modi’s deep understanding of sustainable agriculture and nutrition security has been the driving force behind India’s proactive progress in placing food at the forefront of the global agenda. This has led to investment in extension services along with research and development, which motivates stakeholders to increase the productivity, quality and associated production methods of grain.
In the face of global challenges of climate change, the importance of grains increases even more. Millet is an ancient grain, the specialty of millet is that it is small, but nutritious and provides strength to the body. Millet has the power to revolutionize our approach to agriculture, climate and food security, he added.
Union Minister Munda said that the Government of India has launched massive campaigns and positioned millet as a better solution to tackle malnutrition, mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and promote the adoption of sustainable farming practices. Ministry of Agriculture is actively implementing Millets Sub-Mission under National Food Security Mission in all the States and Union Territories to promote millets and meet the increasing demand, he added.
The Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with various ministries and states, has played an important role in the promotion of millets in the country. The launch of several State Millet Missions and Projects is a testimony to our commitment. The International Year of Millets has brought widespread awareness of millet and increased consumption of millet in India and on the global platform through a series of impactful initiatives and strategic commitments.
He further said that our commitment is not just in words, but goes beyond this. By nominating millets as “One Country-One Priority Product” in the Food and Agriculture Organization and expanding it to “One District-One Product” in 21 districts, we have harnessed the potential of millets, their nutritional value and Economic feasibility.
He said that the announcement made by Prime Minister Modi during the Global Millets Conference in March 2023 regarding converting the Indian Millets Research Institute into a Global Center of Excellence for Millets is a step towards promoting millet cultivation and global research cooperation and innovation.
About ASEAN India Millet Festival
In line with the International Year of Millets, the festival aims to increase awareness and establish a larger market for millet and millet based products. In the festival, along with panel discussions on food security, business cooperation and other topics, an exhibition of millet based products has also been organized by FPOs and Startups. Policy makers, entrepreneurs, expert startups and officials from ASEAN countries including India are participating in this two-day festival organized by the Indian Mission in ASEAN in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.