PremiumUnion Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar is scheduled to host a “millet-only" lunch for all the members of Parliament (MPs) on Tuesday on the Parliament premises. The special “millet-only" lunch is being initiated by Narendra Tomar to mark the “Millet Year", a special initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi will attend the “millet-only" lunch.
According to a report, special chefs have been brought in from Karnataka to make ragi Idlis and dosas. To promote millet-eating culture in India, ragi and jawar-made rotis will be served to the MPs. Other food items include bajra and jawar khichdi, and bajra kheer will also be served.
After the initiative was launched by PM Narendra Modi, the United Nations declared 2023 as the International Year of Millet (IYOM).
Millet was notified as a nutritious-cereal in April 2018 and was also included in the Poshan Mission campaigns. A nutritious cereal component for millet is being implemented in 212 districts of 14 states under the National Food Security Mission (NFMS).
Among the continents, Asia and Africa have primary production and consumption centres of millet crops. Primary producer of millet are India, Niger, Sudan and Nigeria.
Jowar and Proso millets (common millet) are the most cultivated millets in the 112 and 35 countries respectively. Sorghum and pearl millet cover more than 90 per cent area and production. The remaining production comes from Ragi (finger millets), Cheena (proso millets), foxtail millets (kangni) and other non-segregated millets.
India is the major production country of millet in which kangni, kutki or small millet, kodon, gangora or barnyard, china and brown top are included with jawar, bajra, ragi and small millets. Most of the states in India grow one or more millet crop species. During the last 5 years, our country produced more than 13.71 to 18 million tonnes of millet with the highest production in 2020-21.
(With agency inputs)