millet farmers in Shamator, Tuensang participating in the postcard campaign
Hyderabad, December 4 (MExN): The Millet Network of India (MINI) has launches a campaign for India’s nutritional security to advocate for the inclusion of millets in the country’s POSHAN Abhiyaan / National Nutrition Mission.
A press release from the North East Network (NEN), a member of MINI, said that the national campaign entails a postcard campaign and farmer rallies by 14 grassroots organisations from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
“It intends to bring millet farmers’ voices to the forefront by exemplifying the nutritional security at household level and the sustainable livelihoods which the communities have built for themselves,” it said.
The campaign will conclude with a National Convention on Millets at CESS Hyderabad, on December 10 and 11.
The national conventions held by MINI have been significant in highlighting the issues faced by millet farmers and initiating public deliberations on the same, it added.
According to the NEN’s release India has not been quick to notice that the over consumption of just a few staples, which has aggravating the micronutrient deficiencies.
According to the latest NFHS report, there are 17.76 lakh severely acute malnourished children (SAM) and 15.46 lakh moderately acute malnourished (MAM) children as of October 14, 2021, it noted citing an Indian Express report.
In this connection, it noted that millets are increasingly being recognised as the grains which could provide us with the micronutrients our current diets lack.
“Millets among the other food groups need to be made available in the public distribution systems for achieving a diverse diet instead of grain Fortification which is a narrow approach to the multipronged issue of nutrition,” it noted.
“To move towards food and nutritional sufficiency in times of climate change, we need to grow millets as they grow on poor soil, consume less water than rice, and are highly nutritive,” the release said.
“There is a growing awareness about the nutritional value of millets and increased demand but less production and consumption. Hence policy support towards millets based biodiverse farming is much required,” it added.
In this context, the MINI’s campaign advocates for implementing the promises made in the National Food Security Act, especially the supply of millets in Public Distribution System.
It further calls for inclusion of diverse millet-based foods in the Supplementary nutrition programme (For Children below 6 years of age and pregnant/lactating mothers) under the ICDS scheme.
The campaign further advocates millet awareness in the Nutrition and Health programme under the ICDS scheme for adolescent girls and women, the campaign further advises.
NEN has been working with local communities on sustainable food and farming systems and promoting millets-based biodiverse farming in Nagaland since 2009, the release added.
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