Ghazipur: In line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to promote millets, Uttar Pradesh’s first-ever millet processing unit has begun operations at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Ghazipur.
The unit, established at a cost of around Rs 95 lakh, processes a variety of coarse grains including bajra, kodo, kutki, ragi, and sawa, making them available to local consumers directly or through markets.
PM Modi had declared 2023 as the “Year of Millets”.
The Prime Minister had also urged citizens to include nutritious coarse grains in their daily diets.
Lauding the initiative, Shiv Kumar Singh, head of the Millet Processing Unit at KVK Ghazipur, said that the Union government aims to establish such units across all states and districts.
Uttar Pradesh has now taken the lead by opening the first operational unit in Ghazipur.
The unit produces a range of products, including ragi flour, bajra flour, kodo rice, kutki rice, and sawa rice, which are supplied to residents of the district.
Singh also underlined the health benefits of including millets in daily meals.
He pointed out that even mixing 5–10 per cent millets into wheat roti can significantly improve nutrition.
He said that ragi is a rich source of calcium, containing 364 mg per 100 grams.
Singh also said millet cultivation has the environmental and health advantages.
Unlike wheat and paddy, which require heavy use of fertilisers and pesticides, millets are grown naturally without chemical inputs, he added.
This makes them a key component of toxin-free farming and healthier diets, he remarked.
All millets used in the processing unit are cultivated at the KVK’s farm, while local farmers are encouraged to grow these crops on their own fields using seeds from the centre.
The harvested grains are purchased at government-mandated rates, processed at the unit, and made available to the public.
Over the past two to three months, nearly five quintals of processed millet products have already been sold.
Singh urged farmers to reduce the area under paddy and wheat cultivation and shift to millet crops, which can be sown in June–July and harvested in September–October in just 90–100 days, without requiring fertilisers or pesticides.
He emphasised that conventional rice farming depletes soil quality and introduces toxins into the food chain, while millets offer a sustainable and healthier alternative.
(IANS)
