Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government has decided to spread awareness among farmers and other people about the little-known millets like Sawaan and Kodo.
According to a state government spokesperson, the state government will be organising a state level workshop in which 250 farmers would be invited. The farmers, he said, would be told about millet cultivation, storage and processing.
Similar workshops would be organised at the district level. The state government will be roping in various media platforms to spread information about them.
This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme said that the year 2023 will be celebrated as the International Year of Millets.
The UN General Assembly on April 2021 adopted a resolution which was sponsored by India and declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
Its objective is to increase public awareness about the health benefits of millets.
Modi said, “Today, around the world, the craze for these very coarse grains, millets, is rising.” He shared that Indians have been serving dishes made of millets to foreign guests coming to India and they have relished millet dishes very much.
PM Modi said that millets or coarse grains have been a part of India’s agriculture, culture and civilization since ancient times.
India is the largest producer of millets in the world and is taking the initiative to make the millet fad a success. Millets are also beneficial for the farmers and especially the small farmers as these crops get ready in a very short time, and do not require much water either. Millet hay is also considered the best fodder.
According to experts, both the millet varieties are highly nutritious — Sawaan has three times more phosphorus than rice and Kodo has more calcium than rice. The crops are grown under extreme weather conditions. It is said that they were once used as an alternative to rice.
The awareness about these millets would be spread, ahead of the international millet year.
–IANS
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