Odisha aims to take millets’ processing to Gram Panchayat

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By Pradeep Kumar Panda

Bhubaneswar, April 6: Odisha Millets Mission aims at promoting millet processing enterprises at Gram Panchayat and block level to ensure household access for easy processing and value-added millets and millet products. Improvement of millet productivity, profitability from millet cultivation, development of millet-based enterprises with market led value chain activities, promotion of women entrepreneurs for millet-based activities, inclusion of millet in state nutrition programme including public distribution programme are the added objectives for which the special programme on millets is implemented in the state.

Selected blocks within the districts covered under OMM are assigned to civil society organisations (CSOs), which are called as the facilitating agencies (FAs) of the programme. Mainly the NGOs are involved as the facilitating agencies at Block level. The FAs are very much involved in the last-mile delivery and adoption of OMM.

Towards overall implementation of the programme, the government collaborates with CSOs and community-based organisations (CBOs), and seeks advice from external agencies on technical aspects and programme implementation. The programme focusses on training millet farmers to follow improved practices of System of millets intensification (SMI), line sowing (LS), and line transplanting (LT).

Farmers who adopt the improved methods receive a cash transfer directly to their bank accounts, upon successful verification. This is to note that SMI is the application of the principles of systemic rice intensification (SRI) on millets, whereby young seedlings are planted in a specific square pattern. It also involves maintaining a certain level of soil condition over the growing period. Line sowing is a method of sowing seeds directly on the field in the form of a line and maintaining precise spacing.

Line transplanting involves transplanting younger seedlings raised in a nursery, in the form of lines with specific spacing. The programme also supports farmers in adopting improved crop management practices such as weeding, log rolling, crop-cutting, and Non Pesticidal Management (NPM). This is done via traditional agricultural extension models, using field demonstrations and trainings by the CSOs in collaboration with CBOs such as farmer producer groups, and women’s collectives.

Odisha Millet Mission Outreach

As per the programme guideline, the programme outreach is decided taking into account the intensive tribal areas in contiguous habitations and there is predominance of tribal population with previous history of millet consumption and farming practices. Following this principle, Initially the programme was started in 29 blocks under seven tribal districts, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri.

These seven districts as located in the Sothern part of Odisha, collectively these districts are levelled as Southern Odisha districts. In the subsequent year, the programme was upscaled to 53 blocks due to additional 25 blocks covered under OMM. In the second phase in 2018-19, there was a further addition of another 17 blocks in the third phase in 2019-20.

Millet and Sustainable Development Goals

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has 17 Goals, 169 targets and 232 indicators. Millets can play a role in India’s sustainability policy interventions. Contemporary research developments have shed light on the influence of millets on energy optimization (SDG 7), climate resilience (SDG 13) and ecosystem restoration (SDG 14, SDG 15).

Millet farming has led to women’s empowerment (SDG 5), too. The Odisha Millet Mission saw 7.2 million women emerge as ‘agri-preneurs’. The value of millets is evident in their relevance to the sustainable development goals of food security, nutrition and poverty eradication (SDG 1, SDG 2). Millet has linkages with 40 targets of SDGs. Brimming with potential, millets can act as a vital cog in the country’s sustainable development wheel if backed by policies that promote their production, incentivize farmers and strengthen market linkages.

Way Forward

Due to prevalence of MSP and procurement of kharif ragi through Mandi system, the millet farmers have well accepted ragi as a major millet crop in the OMM project areas. Farmers have also expressed their interest to cultivate ragi during Rabi season. It is suggested by the farmers as well as grassroot level OMM officials that procurement of ragi during Rabi season should be introduced so that ragi farmers will be interested to under rabi cultivation of ragi. Besides, there are farmer level suggestions for introducing MSP for other millets like Suan, kangu, janha and kodo millets. Due to non-prevalence of MSP for these millets, farmers are not giving sufficient attention for undertaking cultivation of non ragi millets.

Government of India has focused on promotion of Farmer Producers Companies (FPC) for increasing farmers income through FPC channels. There seems to be sufficient space for organising small holder millet farmers into FPCs. Besides, promoting millet producers’ collectives at block and district level is expected to contribute to strengthening the economics of millet farmers. In some of the OMM areas, early efforts for promoting millet based FPOs have already been attempted and the benefits of such producers’ collectives are expected very shortly.

It is suggested that millet based FPOs should be organized in all of the OMM districts. Mainstreaming of FPO activity in the project area will provide sustainability of the programme, even after completion of the project. Despite emphasis of OMM for millet processing at GP level, it is not yet fully strengthened for which except ragi, for non ragi millets, people undertake manual processing. Even in case of ragi also, a sizable chunk of households is undertaking manual processing of millets.

Efforts should be made to strengthen millet processing units at GP level. Due to OMM intervention, there has been improved millet production and consumption in the OMM project area. Based on findings of the study, there is good scope for further improving PCPDC of millets in OMM project areas. Further, there should be consumption improvement in non-OMM areas also. It is viewed that there should be continuous research for improving millet production and consumption in the state. (Concluded)