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Centre on millets gets going.
Oct 27, 2023

With the focus of the fourth agricultural road map for Bihar, launched recently by President Droupadi Murmu, being on production of millets, a centre of excellence on millets and value chain has started functioning in the state.
The centre is working with a view to increasing the area, production and productivity of millets in the state. The Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University (RPCAU), Pusa, Bihar Agricultural University (BAU), Sabour, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Bihar state agriculture department are all engaged in carrying out research of societal relevance.
 
RPCAU’s vice-chancellor P S Pandey said that over Rs 113 crore has been earmarked for this centre for a period of five years (2023-28). ICRISAT has been allotted a sum of Rs 68 crore and both RPCAU and BAU have been sanctioned Rs 7.50 crore each for the research work. The centre’s building at Gaya would be constructed by the state government at an estimated cost of Rs 30 crore, he said.
He added that the salient features of the project include development of high-yielding varieties of millets for different agro-climatic zones of Bihar and seed production of millets by institutions and through Farmers Producers’ Organizations (FPOs). The project also aims at developing location-specific crop production technologies and also developing farm machineries and primary processing and secondary processing machineries. The centre would work for the development of value chain, and market linkage of millets and capacity building, the VC said.
 
Head of RPCAU’s genetics and plant breeding department and project’s principal investigator (small millets) Shweta Mishra said the university has developed four varieties of finger millets (ragi), one variety each of foxtail millet (kangni) and proso millet (chena) and five varieties of Barnyard millet (sanwa) which are in seed chain. The university is also promoting cultivation of finger millet and proso millet as a summer crop. Besides, a number of other varieties of millets are in pipeline, she said.
 
She further added that the university has organized may awareness programmes for capacity building, seed production and value addition to millets. Two processing equipment have been developed and patented. Besides, many value-added products have been developed, of which one food formulation has got patent, she said.
Mishra said millets are climate resilient crops as they have a very low water requirement and very high water use efficiency. They can tolerate drought, high temperatures, salinity and can be easily grown in degraded soils without much effect on their yield.
In Bihar, finger millet, barnyard millet, proso millet, foxtail millet and pearl millet (bajra) are preferably grown by farmers. Many traditional food items are prepared from millets and consumed in Bihar, like madua ki roti, thekua, halwa, sanwa ki kheer, kauni ki khichdi, cheena ka madha, etc.
 
    
timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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