Raipur: Chhattisgarh Millet Carnival is going to be organized in the state’s capital Raipur from February 17 to 19 where renowned Indian chefs will educate the masses to make new millet-based dishes and numerous millet-based dishes will be served to the guests.
The carnival will be organized at the Subhash Stadium under the joint aegis of the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association and IIMR Hyderabad. This unique carnival will have a special millet food court, where common citizens will be able to relish the delicious dishes made from millet.
The purpose of the Millet Carnival is to include millet in the daily diet of the people and to create awareness about its nutritional value. The event will have discussions by national experts who will share the advantages of millets with the participants and visitors. Besides, many millet based start-ups will display their packaged millet products to generate consumer demand for millets.
Apart from this, street plays by educational institutions and cultural programmes by local folk artists will be presented every evening to make the young generation aware of the environmental benefits of millet cultivation.
Meanwhile, after the announcement for celebrating the year 2023 as the International Millet Year, the Millet Mission was launched in Chhattisgarh on January 10, 2022 . The millet mission was commenced by signing an MoU between ICAR-IIMR and 14 districts of the state in a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. The Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association was also directed to purchase Kodo, Kutki and Ragi at the minimum support price declared by the state government. On this occasion, the Minor Forest Produce Association also tied up with ICAR, under which IIMR became the knowledge partner of the Millet Mission.
Chhattisgarh is the first state where Kodo, Kutki is being purchased at Rs.30 per kg and Ragi at Rs.33.77 per kg. CSIDC has introduced a scheme of 50 per cent subsidy on land, plant and equipment in selected blocks to encourage millet-based industries.
