MP to implement millet mission scheme in all districts for two years

A committee under the state agriculture production commissioner will be constituted to monitor the implementation of the mission, an official said

The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday decided that it will implement the state millet mission scheme in all districts for a period of two years, an official said.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, he said.

The government has decided to implement the state's millet mission scheme through the farmers' welfare and agriculture department in all districts for a period of two years," the official said.

A total of Rs 23.25 crore will be spent on the scheme during the two years (2023-24 and 2024-25), he said.

Under the mission, quality-certified seeds of millets will be given to farmers through seed cooperatives and government institutions on 80 per cent subsidy.

A committee under the state agriculture production commissioner will be constituted to monitor the implementation of the mission, the official said.

The scheme will be publicised on a larger scale to promote the cultivation of millets, their processing and marketing. Apart from this, training will be provided to farmers through study tours, and to promote it, fairs, workshops, seminars, food festivals and road shows will be organised, the official said.

Millets are being promoted in the country in the view of their high nutrition value and also because they were at the centre of the country's food culture, he added.

It was also decided that in any government programme, where lunch or dinner is organised, one dish made of millets will be served and hostels and midday meals will also have dishes made of millets once a week, he said.

In another important decision, the state cabinet approved the inclusion of transgenders in the Backward Class category, the official said.

With this, transgenders will get all the benefits of Backward Classes, he added.