Agriculture Min ropes in Nafed for promotion of govt's millets initiative

The Agriculture Ministry said it has roped in cooperative Nafed for promotion of the government's millets initiative at global scale, including installation of millet vending machines in Delhi-NCR

The Agriculture Ministry on Monday said it has roped in cooperative Nafed for promotion of the government's millets initiative at global scale, including installation of millet vending machines and setting up of an experience centre in Delhi-NCR.

Nafed, which has entered into a MoU with the ministry in this regard, will set up a millet corner in Nafed Bazaar Retail Stores, install millet vending machines across Delhi-NCR, an official statement said.

It will also establish a millets' experience centre at Delhi Haat, to promote nutritious millets and create awareness on the rich history of India through millet-based dishes. Nafed will extend marketing linkage to millets-centric startups, it added.

"Nafed has entered into an MoU with the Ministry of Agriculture to extend its support to millets initiatives," an official statement said.

India, the world's major millets producing country, is promoting millets as part of the International Year of Millets (IYoM) celebration this year.

That apart, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has requested all central ministries, state governments, leading food and beverage bodies and industries to make IYoM a people's movement alongside positioning India as the "Global Hub for Millets".

India has assumed the G20 Presidency this year and coincides with the IYoM and therefore provides an opportune time to showcase India's strength in the area of food security and nutrition in which millets will play a very important role, Tomar said.

To build the momentum for popularisation of millets and to make the IYoM 2023 a huge success, inclusion of millets across all international and national events is crucial to take forward the proposed interventions as part of IYoM celebrations, he added.

All central ministries and state governments have been requested to provide a millet experience in form of millet-based hampers, millet branding-right from airport, city side and in the venue, millet cuisine and snacks to be included in lunch/dinner, millet stalls and caf, millet rangolis and millet literature.