ABSTRACT
Millets were predominantly used as the staple diet in the rainfed areas of the India. However, to enhance food security, rice and wheat were promoted, leading to a steep decline in the area and production of millets in the last five decades. However, since 2010 onwards, there has been a growing interest in promotion of millets both by the central and state governments. This chapter captures interventions undertaken by the Union state governments of Odisha, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
The Government of Odisha undertook comprehensive interventions with a focus on production, processing, marketing and piloting inclusion of millets in government schemes such as the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and the public distribution system (PDS), through a multi-stakeholder approach involving farmer institutions and civil society organisations. The Government of Telangana undertook pilots for the inclusion of millets in ICDS and PDS only at district level. Meanwhile, the Government of Madhya Pradesh promoted millets through an International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) project, collaborating with women’s self-help groups (WSHGs) under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), with a focus on market linkages and the value chain. This chapter looks into different multi-stakeholder interventions and explores learnings from such interventions and experiences.
