As harvest season approaches, farmers in Perambalur, Tamil Nadu are worried that the government has not yet released the pricing and the source of millets for the year.
State and the central government made a number of announcements in the anticipation of 2023 being the International Year of Millets (IYoM) 2023, which is being celebrated globally to improve awareness of millets and encourage their expanded cultivation.
During the Agriculture Budget 2022, the Tamil Nadu government announced that Perambalur would be included in the millet project. Following this, millet varieties were grown in the district last year on more than 250 hectares. These included Kodo, pearl, ragi, and sorghum millet varieties with the exception of foxtail and barnyard millet, which were grown in lower numbers. Agriculture officials have yet to tell farmers of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of millet and the location of procurement, despite the district's millet harvest being so close at hand.
Farmers claimed that as a result, they are continuing to sell it to traders. T Nallappan, a farmer from Perali has stated, "I have been growing sorghum millet for more than five years, and I would sell it to private dealers, keeping the bare minimum that I required at home. Despite Perambalur being a part of the millet project last year, we haven't heard anything from the authorities on the millet MSP. I had grown sorghum millet on 1.5 acres, which I now have to sell to traders as usual.”
He fears that with the ubiquitous cultivation of millet, the cost of the crop is likely going to decrease. Olaipadi's N Guru remarked, "I have planted millets twice in the past few years. I gave up on it and moved to maize crops because the government didn't provide adequate marketing. Last year, relying on the government's millet project, I grew barnyard millet on my one acre of land. However, there is still no adequate income from it due to lack of a fair price.”
“The government should subsidize millet, buy it at a fair price, and sell it through ration stores to commemorate IYoM 2023. Only then will the cultivation of millets increase proportionally in the area,” he added. According to officials, the MSP for sorghum, ragi, and pearl millet for 2022–2023 is 2.990 rupees per quintal, 3.57 rupees per quintal, and 2.350 rupees per quintal, respectively.
