Include millets in mid-day meals & PDS to fight anaemia, say experts

Ranchi: Representatives of civil society groups and a non-profit organisation on Wednesday urged the Jharkhand government to incorporate millet-based food items in its mid-day meal system.
A report, titled ‘Millets: A game changer for nutritional security and climate resilience in Jharkhand’, published by non-profit organisation Greenpeace India underscored the need for the state government to draft new policies which would pave the way for purchase of millets, unpolished rice, and homegrown varieties of pulses under its minimum support price (MSP) programme and public distribution system (PDS).
The state convener of the Right to Food Campaign, Ashrafi Nand Prasad, said over 80% of India’s adolescents were suffering from hidden hunger.
According to the latest National Family Health Survey, nearly 67.5% of children and 56.8% of pregnant women in the state are anaemic.
A faculty member of the Birsa Agriculture University’s (BAU) department of home science, Rekha Sinha, said the inclusion of millets in the diet of children and women would prove to be a gamechanger in fighting malnourishment. “Millets, which are rich in micronutrients, should be included in the PDS to improve the nutritional security of the people. It also adds diversity to our food system,” she said.
The vice-chancellor of the BAU, MS Yadav, said the state government should put efforts to boost millet production and ensure market linkages. Earlier, the state chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) also advocated the inclusion of millets in the PDS and mid-day meals, stating that it was superior to artificially produced and processed rice in terms of nutrition.