Over the years, the demand for millets has declined in India, in comparison to rice and wheat which dominate the market. Similarly, if we compare the production of millets to rice, it is less than even half of the latter. However, if we see the attributes between the two, millets are considered nutritionally far superior to both rice and wheat and also consume 20% to 40% less water than rice.
Being one of the top millet-focused districts in Tamil Nadu with huge production, Virudhunagar is among those districts which is bringing the cereal crops back to market and is focusing on increasing its demand, especially among the children and women. Virudhunagar was also among the two districts in Tamil Nadu which was selected under Millet districts as part of the International Year of Millets 2023.
INCREASING MILLET CULTIVABLE AREA
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, District Collector of Virudhunagar, Meghanath Reddy, said that due to reasons like change in the lifestyle of people, consumer preference of choosing ready made food, urbanization, etc., rice and wheat have been dominating over other food products in the market. Due to a rise in demand of such products, the demand for millets has comparatively come down and the commercial value has also dipped.
“However, the goodness of millets is that it is more nutritious to the body. Hence we wanted to focus on bringing back these cereal crops to the market, he added. For this, the district administration is firstly focusing on increasing the area where they can produce the millets in huge quantity. Under the Tamil Nadu government’s flagship scheme called KAVIADP, the administration is converting shallow land into cultivable land. Close to around 3,000 acres will be converted into cultivable land and will be dedicated to millets production.
SUPPORTING STARTUPS FOR VALUE ADDED MILLETS
As Virudhunagar is a millet focused district, there are various farmer-producer organisations and startups which are focusing on millets. Hence, the district administration is focusing on financial and market linkages. “Under the PMFME (Prime Minister Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises) Scheme, we are providing loans to people who apply for various enterprises producing food products, especially millets-based ones. The idea is to take them from farm gate to market so that such value-added products get both financial and market support,” Mr. Reddy said.
Apart from the financial support, the administration is ensuring market support by calling a meeting with market players and people who are running super markets. Through this, they are trying to market the products on a bigger scale. “The state government had earlier launched the CM’s breakfast scheme in the whole state, and through this, we are trying to bring in millet component into the breakfast given to children in the schools. We used to give them Pongal, Upma, Kichdi, etc. However, now we are creating a menu where a mix breakfast would be given which would include millets as well. We will take a call on this in the coming week of Diwali and will implement it from next month,” said Mr. Reddy.
The district administration is already running special projects like Kanmani and Irumbu Penmani, where these value-added millet products are supplied to children and women for their nutritional value. These projects focus on providing nutrition to children and pregnant mothers.
The administration is also planning to open a stall area in the Collectorate where value-added millet-based products will be sold to public, in line with its plan to create a market demand for millets in the district.
