Bhubaneswar: SAI International School hosted a ceremonial celebration for the Odisha Millets Mission, a flagship initiative of the State Government of Odisha covering 72 blocks in 14 districts, on Tuesday.
The event was attended by Prem Chandra Chaudhary, Director of Agriculture and Food Production, Odisha as the Guest of Honour & Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment as the Chief Guest.
SAIoneers gathered at Indraprastha Auditorium to joyously immerse themselves in this event, which is one of a kind, a memoir of our acknowledgement of a certain superfood & its journey from being the ‘poor man’s grain’ to the powerhouse of nutrition.
The programme started by a soulful rendition put forth by the SAIoneers to welcome the guests, followed by an insightful presentation made by the students regarding the Millets Mission from a gender equity, climate resilience & nutritional security context.
The presentation showcased statistical data backing up the scope & implementation of millet-based enterprises through FPOs & WSHGs, also shedding some light on scheme support provided to farmers for ease of agricultural practises, thereby, fostering massive village level awareness campaigns to increment local consumption.
While advocating for the WSHGs & indigenous farmers that would be empowered by this agro-ecological mission, Padhee said, “I can list 10 reasons why millets are good for the planet. From proffering an economic cost of cultivation, more profit to farmers, low glycaemic index, to being a one stop solution for biggest of global challenges such as climate change, obesity, rural poverty & what not.”
He was elated to witness how millets are added to the cafeteria menu for the students of SAI International School. Furthermore, he added, “We are often referred to as the diabetes capital & millets will tend to address that too because of its low glycaemic Index. I’m sure that SAIoneers, as the more conscious citizens of the future will have a long & heathy life by amassing the numerous health benefits of millets.”
“One glass of Ragi is equivalent to 3 glasses of milk. That’s how powerful these small seeded cereals are, which also happen to be climate resilient. I can vouch about how every country of the African sub-continent supports the cultivation of this crop. I am honoured to inform that I’ll be soon representing the state’s model in an International Millets Forum to be conducted at Rome,” said Chaudhary.
“It is of great honour for all of us as citizens of Odisha that the prestigious Cambridge University is studying Odisha Millets Mission as one of the possible alternatives to the Green Revolution through TIG2RESS initiative.This initiative also caters to the sustainability aspect for farmers through usage of environmentally sustainable production methods,” said Dr Silpi Sahoo, Chairperson, SAI International Education Group.
A Q/A session was conducted towards the end of the event where SAIoneers posed their questions regarding the mission.
