Connect with:
Saturday / December 21. 2024

logo
mobile-logo
HomePosts Tagged "Ajay Bhuwalka"
Foodgrains, India, Interaction, Seeds

Ajay Bhuwalka, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Monk Private Limited shared his views on the millet sector in India in an exclusive conversation with AgroSpectrum.

How would you envisage the future of millets in India?

Millets are an ancient grain of India and was a staple grain before the green revolution. Most rural parts of the country still consume millets as their staple.  We are very confident that millets will definitely find their way back into urban kitchens due to its immense health benefits. Post COVID, the consciousness of all people to lead a healthy lifestyle has gone up significantly. Thus, we are very confident that millet’s popularity will again touch new heights in coming years as people are getting more aware of their benefits.

With good transport facilities, strong marketing network and easy payment system, farmers will definitely be going to opt for millet cultivation. As we have mixers and table size coconut oil extractors at home, in the same way, technology to remove husk of millet at home will definitely increase the demand for millets.

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYOM). How will this development enhance the nexus of millets in the domestic and international market?

The IYOM announcement has given a lot of boosts in not only creating awareness about the importance and benefits of millets but also considerably improved the demand of millets across all channels both offline and online. Many startups have mushroomed to take advantage of this opportunity and thus further creating the market for millets especially in the urban spaces. The government promotional activities such as B2B meet and expos being conducted across the country and even abroad has undoubtedly helped to create national and international awareness and demand. Workshops conducted to spread the health benefits of millets bring new customers. Even at the grassroots level, functions conducted by the agriculture department by distributing seeds to spread the benefits of millets have encouraged new millet farmers.

Agriculture universities are conducting both online and off line programmes to spread awareness about business opportunities that millets provide to institutions and also to individuals. All these activities expect to bring new millet cultivators, new consumers, new traders and they will create an entire new ecosystem for millets and its production.

What steps should be taken to enhance awareness about millets and their benefits across the country?

There are numerous points of view on this topic, but my one and only request is for a national advertising campaign led by celebrities that will run for two years and be distributed in as many different media outlets and languages as possible. The campaign that Amitabh Bachchan ran to raise awareness about polio is an example of a campaign that is comparable. All brands will be able to reap the benefits of this, as it will undoubtedly provide a significant boost to the millet sector.

What are the major challenges that hampering the growth of millets industry in India?

There are a number of obstacles that are looming over the millets sector, includes Lack of awareness among customers, Inconsistent and fragmented supply of millets, Lack of trust among farmers, Shorter shelf life after primary processing, Inefficient agricultural practices and processing of millets, which ultimately results in an increase in costs.

The planting of minor millet presents a significant challenge. As the crop has to be planted in a very specific manner. The soil pattern and moisture levels should be appropriate. Even if a great number of newly educated farmers have come up to take on the challenge of farming minor millets, these seeds will not sprout unless the appropriate amount of moisture and soil type is available.

The Government of India has launched many key initiatives such as National Food Security (NFS) Act covering ‘coarse grains’, Millets made part of the National Food Security Mission etc. As per you, are these initiatives aligned rightly to enhance millet’s growth both in India and abroad?

I really feel these steps will take the industry in the right direction. Apart from these, I feel that there is still scope for rolling out some small initiatives such as –

·        Making sure that millet seeds are easily available and the required sowing equipment system is readily accessible.

·        Enhancing warehouse facilities

·        Relaxation in export policy so that farmers and traders can benefit

·        Spreading more awareness about millets so that young generation get attractive towards this lucrative industry.

Millets are mostly a part of the low external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA), investments in millet production systems in India usually remain lower than those for fine cereals – i.e. paddy and wheat. How can this perception be removed?

This impression of millet will undoubtedly shift if the demand from the urban population develops, as they would consume millets for the purpose of bettering their health and warding off diseases that are associated with lifestyle choices. Additionally, there is a powerful demand for technological innovation of a high quality in order to harvest millets without causing damage to fodder.

                                                                                                                                           By Nitin Konde

Ajay Bhuwalka, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Monk

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, India, Industry Reports / Analysis, Start ups

Let’s take stock of how impactful the International Year of Millet has been in India so far.

India is the world’s leading producer of millets accounting for over 40 per cent of global production. Andhra Pradesh stood in the first place in the country in millet productivity in 2022, as per the National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (NABARD) annual report 2022-23. NABARD has been promoting 22 millet-based farmer producer companies in Andhra Pradesh. These FPCs have nearly 9,970 farmers as members and are engaged in millet-based business activities such as input supply, procurement, providing custom hiring services, and processing and marketing of the millets, among others. In order to provide support to entrepreneurs for recipes and value-added products to promote millet consumption under the International Year of Millet (IYoM) 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture has funded 66 startups with more than Rs 6.25 crore.

A remarkable increase in the number of startups in the millet sector has caught the government’s attention to turn the production and promotion of millet into a mass movement in India and abroad. According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), India has witnessed more than 80 startups in the millet sector in the past year and a half. Let’s take stock of how impactful the International Year of Millet has been in India so far.

Plants in the ‘grass’ family are the botanical ancestors of millets. Their history may be traced all the way back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, making them one of the world’s oldest staple foods. 

Millets are the crop of the future as they provide the possibility of higher environmental sustainability and economic prosperity as the global agricultural and food production systems continue to cope with the increasing population. A nutritious alternative to wheat and rice, that doesn’t consume excess natural resources including water, millets don’t need extraneous chemical pesticides or fertilisers. Hence, smallholder farmers can afford to grow them. Millets have a stronger nutritional profile than wheat, rice, and maize, the three most widely produced grains in the world. They have a low glycemic index and are high in nutrients like fibre, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

The World Bank states that between 32 and 132 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia will be plunged into poverty by 2030. Due to their great heat tolerance, capacity to flourish in water-poor and resource-poor soils, and physiological efficiency as C4 plants, millets are ideally suited to play the role of ‘future crops’ in climate resilient agriculture (CSA).

Sharing the broader picture of the millet world, T R Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee and Group President, TAFE stated, “Millets, often referred to as nutri cereals, stand as a beacon of health, nutrition and sustainability. India, a prominent producer and consumer of millets, has risen to the forefront on the global stage by spearheading the International Year of Millets (IYoM). Millet production in India holds multifaceted importance encompassing nutrition, environment and economics. Suited to diverse conditions, millets offer essential nutrients, manage diabetes, enhance food security, conserve biodiversity and symbolise cultural heritage.”

Elaborating further on the topic, Ravinder Balain, President – South Asia Corteva Agriscience said, “2023 is the International Year of Millets. The government’s efforts in recognising the enormous potential of millets to generate livelihoods, increase farmers’ income and ensure food & nutritional security worldwide were crucial to generating the demand of the ‘Sri Anna’. The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has taken a proactive multi-stakeholder engagement approach (engaging all the central government ministries, states/UTs, farmers, startups, exporters, retail businesses, hotels, Indian Embassies etc.) to achieve the aim of IYoM 2023 and taking Indian millets globally. India’s ambitious plan to increase millet cultivation, consumption, and doubling farmers’ income is a testament to the government’s effort in increasing millet cultivation through several national and state level schemes targeting millet farmers.”

“India is among the top 5 exporters of millet in the world. According to recent data by Trade Map, world export of millet has increased from    $400 million in 2020 to    $470 million in 2021. India exported millets worth    $75.46 million in 2022-23, compared with    $62.95 million in 2021-22. In the past few years and more so in 2023, there has been an increased focus on millet from many startups, large food corporations and other stakeholders in the food chain to bring innovation to this sector with the latest technologies, recipes, and products for domestic and outside consumers. Proactive efforts of the Centre in celebrating IYoM2023 has supported all these efforts from different stakeholders to make Millets a really happening industry,” he added further.

Highlighting more key points, Ajay Bhuwalka, CEO, Urban Monk Pvt. Ltd. said, “Millets are an ancient grain of India and was a staple grain before the green revolution. Most rural parts of the country still consume millet as their staple.  We are very confident that millet will definitely find its way back into urban kitchens due to its immense health benefits. Post-COVID, the consciousness of all people to lead a healthy lifestyle has gone up significantly. Thus, we are very confident that millets will be popularised.”

Echoing similar thoughts, Shashi Kant Singh, Partner, Agriculture and Food Sector, PwC India said, “Millions of farmers across the world depend on millets for livelihood, food and nutrition, with a majority of these crops tracing their origins back to Asia and Africa.” 

Sharing her views on millet cultivation, S B Anuradha, Owner, Amma’s Taste commented, “Pesticides and fertilisers are unnecessary for growing millet. So, there is essentially no harm done to the flora and fauna. There is no need to use preservatives in order to maintain the quality and freshness of millets and millet products. Increased millet cultivation provides additional organic forage for use by mulching animals. The quantity of milk produced is also expected to rise.”

To read more click on: https://agrospectrumindia.com/e-magazine

Let's take stock of how impactful the