Rourkela: The Odisha Millets Mission Programme underway in Sundargarh district has elicited praise from country’s highest planning body Niti Aayog.
The Aayog, in its recent report ‘Take Home Ration – Good Practices Across the States/UTs’, has hailed the initiative of including Ragi Laddu in Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) for pre-school children under ICDS in Sundargarh.
Terming it as a unique model in the country for its three-pronged gains of boosting the production of Ragi and other millet varieties, providing an assured price to the farmers and giving additional income to women SHGs, the policy thinktank presented it among the best practices under diversification of Take Home Ration (THR) products.
In his reaction to Niti Aayog’s report, Sundargarh collector Dr Parag Harshad Gavali said, “By supplementing nutrition through millets, we are building a strong foundation for the growth of children. This innovation has also helped boost income of farmers and women Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the district.”
Millets In ICDS
Ragi Laddu to supplement nutrition of pre-school children was launched as a pilot programme in Sundargarh district on Aug 15, 2020. Within a year, became a universalised scheme covering all 21 ICDS project locations in 17 blocks and 4 ULBS.
The initiative has been benefiting over 63,000 children in the age group of 3-6 years, while 39 SHGs have been involved in the project of preparing the Ragi Laddu mix.
Millets Mission
With District Mineral Foundation’s (DMF) support, the administration has chalked out a five-year plan to bring over 3,000 hectare (ha) of farmland under millets cultivation under the Odisha Millets Mission Programme. The area under millet coverage is set to cross 6000 ha at the end of the five year plan (FY 2022-23).
For increasing acreage under millets, direct incentives are given to farmers while MSP and Govt Mandis are ensured for swift procurement. Within 2 years of its launch, 2 kg millet was supplied to beneficiaries through PDS.
As of date, 21 Millet Shakti kiosks are functioning in the district, while one Millet Shakti Café is operational at Rourkela. Besides, 2 millet-on-wheels vans are at work to promote millet-based cookies, bakes and snack varieties.
