Bhubaneswar: Considering its high nutritional value, the Centre has decided to lift 40,000 metric tonnes (MT) of finger millet (ragi) from Odisha.
The first-ever consignment of 2,642 MT of ragi was sent to Andhra Pradesh for public distribution system (PDS) purposes from Jeypore railway station on Tuesday night. The neighbouring state has expressed its willingness to receive 16,800 MT. While ragi was procured from Koraput and Nabarangpur districts in the first phase, the remaining quantity will be lifted in phases from tribal-dominated districts of Rayagada, Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur.
According to FCI officials, more rakes of ragi will soon be dispatched to Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and northeastern states. “This feat is being achieved in collaboration with Departments of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment,Tribal Development Co-operative Corporation of Odisha Ltd & Food Supply & Consumer Welfare.”
In the 2024-25 Kharif season, 75,000 MT of Ragi was procured from more than 64,000 farmers in the state. The procurement was carried out at 69 ragi collection centres under large area multipurpose societies (LAMPS) across Koraput district with farmers receiving Rs 4,500 per quintal under the Odisha Millet Mission.
Ragi is cultivated over nearly 1.97 lakh hectare of land in Koraput every year, sources said.
The Odisha government also initiated steps for the production of more nutritious and quality millets in the state under its “Shree Anna Abhiyan”.