By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 10 Apr: Chairman of the National Council of State Agricultural Marketing Boards and State Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi held a press conference on Monday in the Vidhan Sabha premises regarding the holding of a national convention based on the prospects and opportunities of millets by Kausamba from 11 to 13 April.
Addressing the reporters, Joshi said that, due to the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Millet Year.
Minister Joshi said that this national conference will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, along with the presidents of various state agricultural marketing boards. He said that a total of 50-60 delegates from different State Agricultural Marketing Boards such as Assam, Goa, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, etc., will participate.
The Minister said that, in this conference, ideas would be exchanged about developing a managed way to work on millets. The conference will be addressed by senior scientists from Indian Millet Research Institute, Hyderabad, Indian Medical Plant Marketing Association, experts from the agriculture sector and AD Ports Group. There will be an exchange of views and detailed discussions held among the delegates in the technical sessions. Apart from this, the usefulness of millets and increasing the income of farmers will also be discussed in detail.
The guests will explain in detail the work being done on millets in their respective states and what strategy has been adopted to promote production. The utility of millets and the benefits to farmers would be explained.
Minister Joshi further stated, “I have got the privilege of organising a national level seminar based on the possibilities and opportunities provided by millets. The Uttarakhand Agricultural Produce Marketing Board along with Kausamba is engaged in finalizing the preparations for the conference.”
He said that a new light has been lit in the whole world regarding coarse grains and reflecting the far-reaching thinking of Prime Minister Modi, there is an atmosphere of enthusiasm in this regard. He recalled that the state government had organised millet feasts twice under the guidance of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Farmers are being encouraged through various conferences and seminars in the state. In Uttarakhand, millet produce is being procured through self-help groups. This would also benefit women associated with SHG groups.
Expressing his gratitude to the Government of India, he said that the Centre has fixed 25 percent share of coarse grains in the total ration purchased for the Indian Army. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country where the government has fixed the minimum support price for Mandua at Rs 35.78. Distribution is being done to ration card holders through the Public Distribution System.
He expressed confidence that this national conference would prove to be a milestone in the task of doubling the income of farmers.
