The international symposium to be held on November 10 and 11 at the premises of the Odisha state government will be titled as “Celebrating Shree Anna (Millet) & Agricultural Heritage of Odisha”. Organised by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, it aims at raising awareness about the value of millet and other traditional food in securing food, improving health, and making agriculture sustainable in the region.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will inaugurating the event but participants from various stakeholders such as Women’s Self-Help Groups, Farmer Producer Organizations, policymakers, MSMEs, research institutions, health organizations, hotel associations, chefs, bloggers, and students, will participate during the two-day event. “Millets and other forgotten foods can play a crucial role in supporting Odisha’s agricultural heritage, improving health and supporting livelihood for tribal communities and smallholder farmers,” Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo noted.
The Revival of Millets and Forgotten Foods
“Shree Anna” is a term used to represent the millets, which form an important crop of Odisha. Millets are climate-resilient crops used to produce food that is nutritious. Though millets had all these advantages, in recent times millets are being replaced with rice and wheat repute. Thus, the overall focus of the symposium was on nutritional contribution and opportunities as a climate-resilient crop.
In addition, forgotten food such as traditional dishes – gruel based on millet and Labanglata, a sweet millet dish- among others, were not so commonly seen in the Odishan household but are nearly absent now. There’s a lot of scope for reviving these items not only to add nutritional benefits but to preserve culture as well.
Odisha’s Millet Mission
The state of Odisha has therefore been investing tremendous efforts in the promotion of millet agriculture through the Odisha Millet Mission. It aims to enhance food and nutritional security and contribute to the income generation of smallholder farmers in tribal-dominated regions. The state has promoted millet cultivation, processing, and access to markets for millet farmers as part of developing this sector. Millets emerged as a potential crop both economically sound and climate-resilient.
It will be an all-encompassing platform that shares the developments, innovations, and challenges facing millets to expand their production and consumption. Locals and international participants will share their experiences regarding health benefits of millets, possible culinary applications, and ways to incorporate them more broadly within the food supply chain.
Economic and Health Benefits of Millets
The millets are nutritionally rich, providing high fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals contents, and hence they have many health benefits: low glycemic index, and management of diabetes patients, and prevention of heart disease. So, diets with these values will help in popularizing natural, nutrient-rich foods, as the objective of this symposium.
That means further wide dissemination of millets would also open new market opportunities and increase demand for traditional crops among small farmers.
The farming of millets is less resource-intensive compared with other grains, thereby making their options cost-effective for poor farmers in areas plagued by drought.
Building a Millet Economy: Role of MSMEs, Self-Help Groups and Farmer Organizations
This symposium will depict the efforts of MSMEs, FPOs, and Women’s Self-Help Groups engaged in millet farming, processing, and distribution of millets as a sustainable economic crop. Many of these groups are working to add value through millet products along the entire value chain, from grains and flours to processed foods. In this development, MSMEs and FPOs are very important in facilitating both market access and the production of new products and innovation, whereby traditional foods are taken to urban markets and beyond.
One of the significant features of the symposium will address the market challenges faced by small-scale producers and how linkages at the market level with millets and forgotten foods can be enhanced. This, of course, is one step further in enhancing market access and demand creation for helping the small farmer have a more secure income base.
Reaching Diverse Stakeholders
This event will gather together people working in a wide range of fields for discussion on strategies to build a millet-based economy. Such people include hospitality industry leaders, chefs, bloggers, and health professionals who could popularize millet-based dishes, including news on the health benefits of such meals. Hotel and restaurant industries have a special place where millet recipes can be showcased to bigger audiences and thereby encourage consumption.
But the symposium will also invite policymakers to discuss how government support can mainstream millets in food systems. Discussions will range from incentives for farmers to strategies of market development and even potential collaboration with research institutions in developing improved millet varieties fit for large-scale cultivation.
Tradition and Modernity
It will discuss how to fill the gap between traditional eating and modern dietary trends. Millet dishes that are traditional in Odisha are part of its heritage. However, some new recipes and ways of preparation can actually popularise it and make it accessible to all. Chefs and food scientists have been invited for workshops to discuss how people can survive on traditional millet recipes for today and this age.
Effectively Using Agriculture for Climate Change Benefit
Millets will be grown in low-fertility soils which can sustain drought conditions. This way, unpredictable rainfall and water scarcity would be recovered. Revival of millet farming would thus add to this process of developing a more sustainable agricultural system by reducing dependence on water-intensive crops like rice. Odisha would thus address the environmental and economic concerns simultaneously by promoting millet farming.
This underlines the importance of millet as an environment-friendly and farmer-friendly crop that points out a double role in ensuring food security and conserving biodiversity.
Future of Millet Farming in Odisha
As Odisha’s millet mission gains speed, the state’s efforts can be held up as a model to regions across the country wanting to bring traditional foods and smallholder farm holder production back into prominence. Local farmers, policymakers, and businesspeople will have the chance at this symposium to discuss a unified approach to promoting millet farming. If Odisha brings back to prominence this completely forgotten food item-worthy of rediscovery-it shall also do so in sustainable, nutrition-focused agriculture.
Source: Odisha Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment