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HomePosts Tagged "Shubha Thakur"
AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, Sustainability

More than 30 FPOs showcased a variety of products including raw millet grains, ready-to-cook (RTC) items, and ready-to-eat (RTE) products

To promote the consumption of millets or ‘Shree Anna’ among the Central Armed Police Personnel, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) hosted a ‘Millets FPO Exhibition for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) under the Ministry of Home Affairs’ on 6 October 2023, at the BSF Camp in Chhawala, New Delhi. More than 30 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) from around the country, showcased a variety of products including raw millet grains, ready-to-cook (RTC) items, and ready-to-eat (RTE) products etc, to approximately 1,000 attendees from various paramilitary forces.

The Exhibition was inaugurated by Shri Faiz Ahmad Kidwai, Additional Secretary, DA&FW, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. He was joined by Maninder Kaur, Additional Secretary, DA&FW and Shubha Thakur, JS (Crops), DA&FW.

In his inaugural speech, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, AS, DA&FW, highlighted how over 75,000 FPOs are working to support small farmers with resources and market connections. He pointed out that 34 millet FPOs from Rajasthan, UP, MP, and Haryana had gathered for the mega event with a dual aim to showcase the variety of millet products in the country and establish direct links with CAPF canteens and departmental stores for future procurement.

Shubha Thakur, JS (Crops), DA&FW, expressed gratitude to the paramilitary forces for their eagerness to embrace millets. She also commended the 34 FPOs for their range of millet products on display & looked forward to a fruitful collaboration between Millet FPOs & paramilitary forces

The exhibition served as an opportunity for the FPOs to interact directly with the armed forces and their families, introducing them to the wide array of home-grown, millet-based products. Additionally, the procurement officers and chefs/cooks also got a chance to witness the diversity of products, ease of millet procurement and linkages with FPOs for future procurement for their respective units during the exhibition.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs took a ground-breaking decision to introduce 30 per cent millet in the meals of personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). In alignment with the celebration of the International Year of Millets, this decision aimed to promote millets as an energy-rich food choice for paramilitary personnel and to support their physically demanding routines, as millets are loaded with fibre, minerals, and essential nutrients. In August 2023, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) also organized a culinary training session for more than 250 chefs and cooks working with paramilitary forces, including the Assam Rifles, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Security Guard, Sashastra Seema Bal, and various government canteens. The successful training session acquainted participants with a variety of millet-based recipes, ranging from simple snacks to wholesome meals, which they were eager to incorporate into the daily menus of their canteens and mess facilities.

Over 34 Farmer Producer Organisations showcased and sold their unique range of products to Commandants, Second-in-Commands, Quartermasters, Chefs/Cooks, and their families during the exhibition. Notable highlights of the exhibition included ready-to-eat products like Foxtail Millet Khakhra, Bajra Cookies, Jowar Ladoos, Millet Rusk, Ragi Namkeen, Cakes etc. Guests were not only impressed by the remarkable versatility of these ready-to-eat millet-based sweets and savouries, but they also expressed a keen interest in learning more about millet flours and ready-to-cook items, such as Ragi Idli Mix, Millet Upma and Millet noodles, to incorporate into their daily diets.

More than 30 FPOs showcased a variety

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, India, Start ups

FICCI PwC Knowledge Report: Propelling India’s millet sector towards a sustainable future, was released in FICCI Millet Conclave ‘Shree Anna’.

Dr Sudhanshu, Secretary, APEDA, highlighted the emergence of more than 80 startups in the millet sector within the past year and a half, responsible for developing well-packaged products, and acknowledged the innovation from large retail organisations.  Dr Sudhanshu was addressing the FICCI Millet Conclave ‘Shree Anna’.

Dr Sudhanshu emphasised the need for continuous efforts to provide guidance and support to small entrepreneurs and startups in the millet area, recognising the need for handholding rather than focusing solely on large export houses. In addition, he stressed sustaining the momentum after the launch of the campaign and expressing the commitment to take it to the next level.

Reflecting on the past one and a half years, Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary (Crops, Oil Seeds), Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare noted the significant growth of startups in the millet sector, which has captured the attention of the highest levels of government. She emphasised the importance of making the millet movement a mass movement in India and globally. 

The programme also saw the felicitation of winners of the 2nd Edition of Millet Startup Awards and Millet Idea Competition of Higher Education Students on “Creating India’s Millet Revolution: Game-Changing Idea”. 

On occasion, FICCI PwC Knowledge Report: Propelling India’s millet sector towards a sustainable future, was released. Speaking on the report, Shashi Kant Singh, Partner at PwC India, outlined the policy implications for the next 10 to 15 years, production aspects, awareness creation, innovation, and market development for millets.

Speaking on occasion, TR Kesavan, Chairman of the FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Group President, TAFE, passionately advocated for integrating millets into the regular diet, emphasising its multifaceted benefits, including nutritional value, climatic resilience, and income generation for farmers. He highlighted the challenges in cultivation, the need for mechanisation, and the importance of making millets profitable.

In his address, Dr Khader Vali, known as the Millet Man of India, passionately advocated for millets to eliminate various diseases. He emphasised that millets go beyond nutrition, offering a unique solution to global health challenges. Dr Vali highlighted the sustainable cultivation of millets, which requires minimal water, and lamented the disappearance of many traditional varieties. His insights served as a call to action, urging a reconnection with millets, recognising their unparalleled health benefits, and promoting sustainable cultivation. 

 Ravinder Balain, President South Asia at Corteva Agriscience, highlighted the United Nations’ declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millet on India’s proposal and the Indian government’s subsequent initiatives to raise awareness about millets.

FICCI PwC Knowledge Report: Propelling India’s millet

AgroPolicy, India, R&D, Sustainability

Important outcomes included identifying the critical need for aligning the centres’ research activities with the country’s priorities and planning for a similar meeting every year

At the invitation of the Government of India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 16 International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs), including 10 CGIAR centres attended a meeting at ICRISAT Headquarters in Hyderabad, to update on their research activities in India and innovations in the pipeline.

Important outcomes included identifying the critical need for aligning the centres’ research activities with the country’s priorities and planning for a similar meeting every year in January/ February to synergise the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the IARCs’ research activities.

Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), Government of India, who participated virtually, set the context of the meeting. In his concluding remarks, he expressed the need to ‘institutionalise’ the annual meeting to integrate knowledge from all the centres and plan effectively both for the short, medium and long-term research goals.

“Any knowledge, idea or practice useful to the farmer in India, should reach them as quickly as possible before the opportunity is lost. We need a sandbox environment to test new ideas/ knowledge and then quickly roll it out and find out how much it can be scaled out,” Manoj Ahuja.

Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary (Crops, Oil Seeds & Administration, CVO), DA&FW, who participated actively in the discussions, emphasised the need to build strong seed systems and facilitate easy accessibility of improved varieties to farmers. She said she was happy to be part of the ‘first common meeting’ of all the IARCs.

Temina Lalani-Shariff, Regional Director, South Asia, CGIAR, presented case studies on technologies developed by the One CGIAR for regions across India, which were appreciated by officials from DA&FW.

Arvind Kumar, Deputy Director General-Research ICRISAT, highlighted the many achievements of ICRISAT and its work across disciplines and across agriculture for the development value chain. He cited the example of soil and water conservation in Bundelkhand which caught the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and spoke of plans to out-scale to other regions.

Important outcomes included identifying the critical need