‘Millet Man of India’ Khadar Vali on Sunday called on farmers, policymakers, and agriculture scientists to abandon fertilisers and change agricultural practices to promote crops that are healthy and fit for human consumption.
Addressing a large gathering of farmers from Anantapur on the second day of the three-day Millets Mela—2025 held here, he took a dig at the policy of giving subsidies for fertilisers, and the distribution of rice through the public distribution system (PDS). He advised the removal of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and fixing minimum support price for all 10 varieties of millets.
Mr. Khadar Vali congratulated the 18 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for coming together under the Anantha Susthira Vyavasaya Vedika led by Accion Fraterna-Ecology Centre Director Y.V. Malla Reddy and organising the millets festival to enhance awareness on millets among people.
Asking the governments to support the processing and value addition of millets at cluster levels in districts, he said it would cost the exchequer only one-fourth of the amount being given as a subsidy on fertilisers. On the occasion, he explained in detail the manner in which food should be cooked and also consumed for different health conditions. He advocated the cooking of millet food in earthen pots and utensils.
Earlier, District Agriculture Officer Umamaheswaramma detailed the department’s schemes meant for the farmers and about their service. Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University chief of Millets Research C.V. Chandramohan Reddy explained the history of the evolution of varieties of millets and told farmers from the arid region to grow them with reduced input costs and enhanced health benefits for the consumers.
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) District Development Manager Anuradha explained the different programmes under which the bank was supporting farmers and farmer producer organisations (FPOs).
Centre for Collective Development (CCD) founder-secretary and CEO Trilochan Sastry called upon all the FPOs in Anantapur district to unite and create a brand for the products that are manufactured or value-added. He promised to provide support for such an initiative.
Published – March 23, 2025 08:04 pm IST
