Bhubaneswar: A delegation of 15 officials from the Assam Millets Mission (AMM) is on an exposure visit to Odisha from January 29th to 31st to gain insights from the successful interventions of the Odisha Millets Mission (OMM). Led by Dr. Pranab Kumar Mahanta, Agriculture Adviser, Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation project (APART), Govt of Assam, the team comprised officials from the Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Assam, Department of School Education, Govt. of Assam, Assam Agricultural University, Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation project (APART), and Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) Society.
During the visit, the AMM team received detailed information from the officials of the State Project Management Unit of OMM, covering various components of the Odisha Millets Mission. Particular emphasis was placed on the Procurement and Seed system, prompting inquiries from AMM officials, all of which were comprehensively addressed by the OMM team.
Addressing the Assam Millets Mission team, Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha, said, “We are happy to know that Assam is promoting millets. We will be happy to share our knowledge and experience in Odisha Millets Mission with you. You should carry out this in a mission mode approach, establish a program secretariat led by an organization with grassroots experience and a knowledge secretariat. There should be a long-term budget allocated for this. There should be flexibility in the implementation norms. Procurement has been the key to Odisha Millets Mission’s success. We are also working on benchmark prices for non-ragi millets. We believe our experience in OMM will definitely contribute to the success of your millets mission.”
Dr. Pranab Kumar Mahanta, Agriculture Adviser, APART, Govt of Assam, conveyed gratitude, stating that, “We have come here to learn from the Odisha Millets Mission, a model not only successful in millet promotion but also acknowledged by organizations nationally and internationally. We are thankful to the officials from the OMM and the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment for providing valuable information, which will help us advance the Assam Millets Mission.”
The Assam Millets Mission team expressed appreciation for the warm reception and invaluable insights gained during the visit, reaffirming their commitment to promoting millets and implementing best practices inspired by the Odisha Millets Mission.
On day one of the exposure visit, officials visited the Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT), Millet Shakti Cafe situated at the Kalinga Stadium, Kala Bhoomi Odisha Crafts Museum, and a millet processing unit at Baramunda in Bhubaneswar.
In the next two days, the team will visit the field to experience ragi procurement activities, ragi crop demonstration, processing units, seed center, etc.
