Lucknow, 1 Aug: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, has taken tremendous measures to raise awareness about the value of millet commonly known as “Shri Anna”.
The state government is supporting the ‘Uttar Pradesh Millets Revival Program,’ which comprises a comprehensive action plan to raise public knowledge of millets.
According to authorities here on Tuesday, the program aims to not only promote millet-based cuisine but also to create awareness about their nutritional worth.
Significant efforts have already been undertaken under this strategy to promote millet planting. The administration, on the other hand, aims to go a step further by boosting millet consumption among the general people throughout the state.
This will entail implementing consumer awareness campaigns in all areas as well as adding millet into the educational curriculum.
From February 1, 2023, the Agriculture Department initiated a comprehensive campaign to encourage farmers to produce millets across the state, with free seed mini-kits supplied to farmers to assist and promote millet cultivation.
Additionally, ads in newspapers and electronic media were used to enhance public knowledge about the advantages of millets.
Taking this sequence a step further, the state is also encouraging the establishment of millets-based processing units. Various components of millet promotion have been prepared at the district level in accordance with the new comprehensive action plan.
This involves creating millet recipes, organising consumer awareness campaigns, including millets in school curricula, and offering extensive training to teachers to help them better understand millets.
Fairs will be organised under the supervision of Millets Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to present millets as value-added and value-pressed goods. These fairs will be used to highlight and promote diverse millet-based products, promoting wider acceptance and consumption of millets throughout the state.
The fairs that are intended to be held in every district of the state will primarily educate school pupils, parents, and instructors about millets. The integration of millets in the school curriculum is being emphasised in order to raise knowledge about their benefits.
Simultaneously, 200 instructors around the state will receive specific training at the start.
Other instructors in the state will be linked to the millets awareness program and educated to utilise Sri Anna, clarify misunderstandings about it, and raise awareness. Essay writing, quizzes, project work, and other forms of millets contests will be held.
District Magistrates will be in charge of implementing these programs in all districts across the state, and a committee will be formed in each district, chaired by the District Magistrate, with the Chief Development Officer as Vice-Chairman, the Deputy Director of Agriculture as Secretary, and Basic Education Officer, the District School Inspector, Regional Tourism Officer, District Horticulture Officer, District Agriculture Officer, Millets programme FPO, and the District School Inspector as a member.
The Deputy Director of Agriculture will be crucial in determining the budget for these operations. Following the approval of the committee, led by the District Magistrate, the Deputy Director of Agriculture will pass the budget for all millets promotion activities in the individual districts.
