ROURKELA: After expanding millets cultivation target to 13,050 hectares (ha) in the kharif crop season 2025 in Sundargarh district, as many as 12 bakery units have been roped in for value addition to the highly nutritious food grains.
Sundargarh chief district agriculture officer (CDAO) LB Mallick said, under the Shree Anna Abhiyan (SAA), 12 bakery units across as many blocks received machineries to prepare cookies and other bakery products. The initiative aims to increase the availability of millet-based products in rural markets and boost consumption.
Bakery units have been established in Hemgir, Lefripada, Tangarpali, Balishankara, Nuagaon, Kuanrmunda, Kutra, Rajgangpur, Lathikata, Bonai, Lahunipada and Gurundia blocks for manufacturing and marketing millet-based items. Each bakery unit received gas oven, planetary mixture and cookies cutting machine totalling Rs 5-6 lakhs. These units will procure millets from local farmers, farmer producers’ groups or local markets.
According to sources, out of 17 blocks in the district, millet production occurs in 15 blocks excluding Bisra and Koida. Three millet producing blocks-Sadar, Subdega, and Bargaon lack bakery units for paucity of fund.
The SAA programme in seven of the 15 blocks is funded from the state plan, while remaining eight blocks are supported by Sundargarh district mineral foundation (DMF).
The district operates 67 Millet Shakti Tiffin Centres run by women SHGs and selling various millet based snacks and foods.