The Agriculture Department has identified 36 mandals in six districts to encourage millet cultivation this kharif under the Millet Mission. Farmers would be encouraged to cultivate millets on a total extent of 7,200 acres in these mandals (200 acres per mandal).
According to Agriculture Commissioner M. Jagan Mohan, the Telangana State Seed Development Corporation has already arranged the necessary seed to take up the cultivation of millets in these mandals. He said the department would implement the programme with the help of Watershed Support Service and Activities Network (WASSAN) and Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA). He said the total budget for the five-year programme was ₹64 crore and in the present budget, ₹10.62 crore was allocated for it, including ₹6.51 crore under the National Food Security Mission and ₹4.11 crore under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. Mr. Jagan Mohan said the objective of the mission was to increase the extent of cultivation of millets along with their productivity and production.
This apart, creating demand for millets is also one of its main goals by promoting the consumption of millets at family level by about 25% so that women and children are assured of nutritional security. Encouragement for establishing small millet processing units at village and mandal level by women farmers and improving their marketing prospects in urban areas would also be done under the mission.
The mandals selected for the cultivation of millets under the Millet Mission are Indravelli, Narnoor, Gade Hathnoor, Gadeguda, Utnoor and Sirikonda in Adilabad district; Asifabad, Tiryani, Kerameri, Jayanur, Sirpoor (U) and Lingapoor in Asifabad; Kollapur, Pedda Kottur, Kodair, Pentlapalli, Balamur and Lingala in Nagarkurnool.
Further, Nawabpet, Gandeed, Hanwada, Koilkonda, Dameragidda and Narayanpet in Mahabubnagar; Vikarabad, Dharur, Doultabad, Kodangal, Bomraspet and Doma in Vikarabad; and Jharasangam, Nyalkal, Sirgapur, Zahirabad, Mogdampalli and Narayankhed mandals in Sangareddy district.