Chhattisgarh Millet Mission

Summary of the Initiative

Government of Chhattisgarh launched Mission Millet Chhattisgarh in September 2021 to become the Millet Hub of India. Its primary objective is to promote cultivation of Kodo millet, little millets and Finger millet in the State, with a focus on 85 Blocks in 20 Districts with the total budgetary allocation of Rs.170 Crores and input grant of Rs.9000 per hectare was decided⁵. Chhattisgarh Minor Forest Produce Co-operative Federation was appointed as the implementing agency for procurement and processing of millets in the State. Agreement between ICARI-IMR and 14 district administrations, for promotion of cultivation, procurement storage and processing into value added products, was signed in presence of Hon’ble CM on September 10th, 2021.

Situation before Initiative

The millet cultivation has been on a downward trend due to promotion of wheat and paddy cultivation in State largely due to assured returns to farmers because of MSP, declining demand and lower yield due to poor seed quality, lack of training of farmers in good agricultural practices and modern technology. All these factors have made millet farming un-remunerative for the farmers.

Nature of Initiative

Mission Millets Chhattisgarh was started under the theme of “Cultivation to Consumption”. It is a multi-pronged approach to improve the entire ecosystem of millets from cultivation to consumption, to attain the below mentioned objectives of making millets a profitable farming option for the farmers of the State.

The Mission Millets comprises the following components:

• The duration of Mission Millets is five years, with budget outlay of Rs. 170 crore from 2021-2026.
• A promotion incentive of Rs. 9000 per hectare will be given to farmers under the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) to promote cultivation
• Declaration of MSP of Rs 30/kg for Kodo and Little Millets and Rs 33.77/kg for Ragi.
• Creation of Center of Excellence in a 20 hectare area for better seeds, training, modern equipment, capacity building technology demonstrations etc.
• ICAR-IIMR as technical partner for cultivation, procurement, processing and value addition inputs. According to the MoU signed, IIMR will provide support and guidance for increasing the productivity of Kodo, Kutki, and Ragi, technical skills, availability of high quality seeds and establishment of a seed bank in Chhattisgarh.
• Establishment of approximately 50 cleaning and grading units, and 10 dehulling units across the State by Chhattisgarh Minor Forest Produce Cooperative Federation (CGMFP) in 2021-22. CGMFP Federation working with 1.2 million tribal population of the State and having more than 18,000 procurement centers for Minor Forest Produce, will be utilized for procurement of millets across the State at MSP.
• Promotion of regional processing units under private investment: An MoU has already been signed for a 10,000 MTPA millet processing unit to be established at Kanker district.
• Increasing consumption of millets by distribution of millets under the PDS program. Provide value added millet products under Mid-Day Meal and ICDS.

Impact of Initiative

The program is still in its initial stages. It targets to increase the area under millet cultivation from 69,000 hectare to 1,88,400 hectare; increase the yield from 0.45MT/hectare to around 1MT/hectare and to increase per capita consumption of millets in the State.

Source : State Missions and Initiatives to Promote Millets