Various stakeholders from India's millet landscape underscored that by building on the momentum created during the International Year of Millets (IYOM), issues related to food security, agricultural livelihoods, and nutrition diversity may be tackled in a climate-resilient way.
At the Reliance Foundation's multi-stakeholder meeting on December 19 titled "Shaping Perspectives on Practise and Policy for Millets in India," they were exchanging experiences.
Within India's millet landscape, policymakers, farmer representatives, stakeholders in the development sector, researchers, and industry representatives all emphasised the need for enhanced farmer-focused activities, improved collaboration, and a careful discussion of the difficulties and accomplishments from both practice and policy.
“We have created six task forces, in the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Health and one in the nutrition sector to continue the journey of millets. Millets are a crop for the future,” said Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
On this occasion, Reliance Foundation produced a publication titled "Fostering Resilience for Sustainability: Reliance Foundation's Millet Experiences," which details the lessons learned from millet interventions throughout several states.
'Fostering Resilience for Sustainability' highlights end-to-end interventions such as giving farmers access to high-quality seed, offering ongoing technical assistance, bolstering market connections, empowering women's agency, and raising knowledge of millets.
The following people spoke at the discussions: Professor Ruth DeFries from Columbia University; Priyanka Singh, Chief of Rural Transformation, Reliance Foundation; K P Kavitha, CEO, Kazhani Farmers Producer Co., TN (FPO); R K Tiwari, Assistant Director, Department of Women and Child Development, Madhya Pradesh; Savitaben Vasava, a millets farmer from Gujarat; and Raman Wadhwa, Director, NRLM. Participating at the event were senior politicians, researchers, practitioners, and professionals in agriculture.
“This decade has been historic for the global food systems dialogue, and transformational for millets. We are witnessing the discourse change to millets being sought after and India has led this change from the front. The strong momentum generated so far should enable us to leapfrog into an era when millets are coming of age in providing food security and diversity amidst climate change," said Agannatha Kumar, CEO, Reliance Foundation.
India submitted a proposal for the "International Year of Millets" (IYOM) to the UN after declaring 2018 to be its "National Year of Millets." The UN's 75th General Assembly convened in March 2021 and proclaimed 2023 as the International Year of Millet (IYOM) to raise awareness of the advantages of millet consumption and cultivation worldwide.
The world's top producer of millet, India produced 16.93 million metric tonnes on average between 2019 and 22 — roughly 11 percent more than it did between 2014 and 18. The yield of millet has improved over time despite a decrease in the area under cultivation.
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