RAIPUR: With an aim to promote the Millet Mission and going beyond creating awareness, a special menu comprising of recipes made from 'millets only' were served to the legislators for lunch hosted by the Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in the Chhattisgarh Assembly on Wednesday.
Various millet delicacies and delicious dishes including khichdi, kadhi, ragi-pakoras, kodo-bhajiya, kutki-ke-fare, ragi halwa among others were relished with fondness during the imposing lunch.
The potential health benefits of the ‘Nutri-cereals’ have been widely recognised. The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets under the initiative proposed by the Indian government.
Chhattisgarh too has taken a new initiative to promote millets, which are produced in large quantities in the state and also included in the mid-day meal to eradicate malnutrition.
“On the suggestion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Millet Cafe will also be opened in the state secretariat in the near future. The country’s first Millet Bank has been started in Chhattisgarh where 22 types of millets are produced," said Baghel.
Children in schools are being given food made from millet in the mid-day meal, including cookies, laddoos and soya-chikki, he added.
The first millet cafe in the state was started in Raigarh district by the then collector Bhim Singh in April last year.
The state is further encouraging people to incorporate millet, owing to its nutritional benefits, in everyone’s diet for eradicating health problems.
Chhattisgarh is also the first state to procure millets on the support price. Under the Millet Mission, in operation in 14 out of the 33 districts of the state, besides fixing the support price of Kodo Kutki-Ragi at Rs 3000 per quintal, the arrangement has been put in place where women self-help groups carry out the collection of millets under the Chhattisgarh small forest produce cooperative union.
An MoU has been signed between the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad (IIMR) and 14 district collectors. IIMR has taken the responsibility of providing good quality seeds of Kodo, Kutki, and Ragi as well as helping in setting up the seed banks besides giving training to the farmers.