Odisha's millet mission to cover more districts

Bhubaneswar : The Odisha government has brought 62 blocks of 12 districts under the millet mission to enhance farmers' income in the state.

The Odisha Millets Mission was being implemented in 30 blocks across seven districts.

At a review meeting on the mission, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said the millet cultivation would add to nutritional security and result in improving the farmers' income significantly.

He directed the collectors to finalize the action plan and register the millet farmers for field demonstration activities.

Earlier, the state government had announced it would spend Rs 100 crore for the millets mission for the benefit of around five lakh small and marginal farmers.

The government will procure millets and utilise these in various schemes.

Development Commissioner R. Balakrishnan told the officials to identify in advance the storage and procurement points for millets in the districts.

The review revealed that last year, 30 blocks in seven districts were included in the millet mission.

The mission has extended its activities to other 25 blocks of 4 districts namely Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Bolangir and Ganjam. Seven blocks in Keonjhar district have also been brought under its orbit through initiatives of district administration.

The proposal for further extension of the programme to some blocks of Bargarh and Nabarangpur districts was also discussed in the meeting, said an official.