The Deputy Director General of ICAR, TR Sharma inaugurated a brainstorming session on mainstreaming the local agro-biodiversity of the north-western Himalayas with the notable significance given to millets at CSK HP Agriculture University, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.
Communicating with farmers, scientists, and other stakeholders, he added that technology is available to augment the production of millets by 225 percent however the area under millets has dwindled by 75 percent in the past 70 years. He also said that the inclusion of millet in mid-day meals will offer nutritious meals to students and thereby boost farmers’ income.
Sharma added that the main project of the ICAR on agro-biodiversity was offering good results. Collection and preservation of landraces and wild species were pivotal in the flourishing of climate-resilient crop diversification. He said that besides the underutilized crops, ICAR is also working on bio-fortification of a diverse variety of crops like wheat which contain a high amount of zinc.
Vice-Chancellor, HK Chaudhary, said that awareness has been developed among farmers on the significance of growing and utilizing millets, but there is a need for providing marketing amenities at farmers’ doorsteps. Chaudhary dwelt on the low cost of millet production, changing food habits, the significance of indigenous knowledge, naturally bio-fortified crops, and the processing of millets in his speech.
JC Rana, the Country Director of Alliance Biodiversity International and Director of the International Centre of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) said that Rs 1000 crore project has been started on mainstreaming the agro-biodiversity which is going to offer good results. Also, he said that a value chain has been developed to preserve traditional varieties.
An MoU was signed between ICAR and the Indian Institute of Millets Research to work on the identification of traditional millet varieties that provide higher yields.
