Authorities and non-government businesses in Kerala have launched varied millet-based initiatives, with 2023 being celebrated because the Worldwide 12 months of Millets. (image for representational functions)
| Photograph Credit score: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
With the highlight on millets this 12 months (2023), the Kerala Agriculture division has determined to open ‘Millet Cafes’ in a bid to popularise millets and millet-based merchandise.
The cafes can be opened in each district in a phased method, Kerala Agriculture Minister P. Prasad informed The Hindu on October 16. “Now we have many millet-based merchandise in the present day resembling biscuits, cake, dosa and different snacks. The cafes are meant as retailers for these merchandise,” he stated.
Based on the Minister, the division plans to have one cafe in each district. The cafes will serve millet-based meals and now have them on sale. “Our plan is to allow the ‘Krishikootam’ collectives and farmer producer organisations (FPO) to open them underneath the Poshaka Samriddhi Mission,” he stated.
The division has been directed to organize a listing of doable areas.
Kerala’s first ‘Millet Cafe,’ a Kudumbashree initiative, was opened in Attappady, Palakkad, in 2022.
Authorities and non-government businesses in Kerala have launched varied millet-based initiatives, with 2023 being celebrated because the Worldwide 12 months of Millets. In August, the Agriculture Division had introduced an bold plan to extend millet manufacturing within the State to 3000 tonnes every year underneath the Poshaka Samriddhi Mission.
Information launched by the division present that millet manufacturing in Kerala, after a pointy decline for the reason that early 2000s, have displayed indicators of choosing up after 2016-17. Within the case of ragi (finger millet) which tops the millet record in Kerala, authorities knowledge present that manufacturing rose from 261 tonnes in 2019-20 to 329.55 tonnes in 2020-21 and productiveness from 1,225 kg/hectare to 1,431 kg/hectare.
On Friday, the Kerala authorities inked an MoU with the Hyderabad-based ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Analysis (IIMR) for growing the State’s fledgling millet sector. The Agriculture division additionally hopes to safe the technical help of the IIMR for its Millet Cafe mission.