EMPOWERING SMALL & MARGINAL FARMERS IN THENI ON MINOR MILLET PRODUCES FOCUSING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE / LOW CARBON FARMING INITIATIVES THROUGH ON-FARM DIVERSITY, VALUE ADDITION, & MARKET PARTICIPATION FOR SUSTAINABLE WELFARE MEASURES

• Millets are grown on poor shallow and marginal soils under rainfed conditions. Some of these are still grown in the hilly areas under shifting cultivation which is one of the most primitive ways of crop production. The soils on which these crops are cultivated have low moisture retention capacity.
• Seeds are often broadcast. This is a major bottleneck in taking inter-cultivation operation and effective weed control. The mixed cropping practices adopted by the farmers are mostly suited to sustenance agriculture and many of them are not remunerative.
• They are often cultivated under un-manure and unfertilized conditions. Non adoption of improved varieties and timely agricultural operations like tillage, sowing, weeding and interculturing has resulted in reduced returns. Improved crop management practices are not adopted by the farmers due to socio-economic constraints.
• Research on crop improvement and agro-techniques was neglected till recently.
• There is no organized programme for production and supply of improved seed varieties.
• There is no ready market for the disposal of surplus produce at a remunerative price.
• There is lack of extension and development support and finally that still there is a need to intensify to increase the area and production of millets

Small Millet Seed Bank – Buy Back Arrangements

GREEN will maintain a Seed Bank for this project where different varieties of quality seeds of Minor millets are available in bulk quantities in preserved manner. The selected farmers will provide the quality; certified seed pack contains suitable varieties of Millet (small and minor millet seeds) with adequate quantity for sowing at an affordable/free of cost. The seed preservation technique will be provided to the farmers.

Once the farmers cultivated the given seeds on their land and the post-harvesting of it, the farmer will give the additional quantity of his buying seed to the seed bank. (i.e. if a farmer gets 1 Kgm pack for cultivation – he will give 2 kgm of seeds during his harvesting) – This will enhance the Seed Supply Chain of the Minor millets in the local area. This seed supply chain mechanism will able to support an additional and increased number of farmers to cultivate the millets in the upcoming years.

GREEN Small Millet Coordination Centre – 24 x 7

GREEN will organise a “Small Millet Coordination Centre” – which is the Central Coordination System enhanced by this project and will run 24x7 hrs. This centre would have the necessary personnel and professional expertise, to conduct farm field visits, arrange lab testing / Soil testing, and organise events and programs and it will facilitate, organise, monitor, govern, coordinate and guide all the related activities proposed by this project. By this means of effort, the activities are integrated together and will ensure the proper running of the project in a long term.

GREEN Small Millet Resource Centre

A special Small Millet Resource Center will be developed under this project. This resource centre is running in a separate building and it will be the Knowledge Hub for Millet Production this resource centre will provide all necessary technical as well as financial inputs and means to the project beneficiaries and other farmers in the working community on Millet cultivation and production. It disseminates information, and resource materials (printed, and non-printed materials, CDs, DVDs, Books, Tutorials, Videos, and Web-based information about Local & Global practices etc.,) on Millet Cultivation, Minor Millet production and value addition technologies on Small millets etc., It creates a contact establishment with regional, zonal, national wise forums, councils on Millet production for experience sharing and knowledge exposures and it also act as the facilitation centre to a farmer in any part of the target district and a State as well.

Millet Meal Program to School

For creating awareness and facilitating the project's benefits to the public in general, the implementing agency would organise the Millet Meal Program for Schools. Through this program, each school in the project site will support a variety of Meals made by Millet products a day a week. This program will be conducted for one year. About 150 schools will be covered by this program for 52 weeks a year.

A special awareness session for the school students and their parents about the Millet products will also be conducted and it will enhance higher purchase quantity and consumption of millets in the proposed locality – thus the millets demand is raised and production will be increased.

GREEN Center for Public Distribution System on Raw Millet and Millet-based Commercial Produces

A centre will be established for providing quality millet seeds to the public, in general, those who are interested in Millet cultivation at the household level and it will be marketing the various Millet based value-added products promoted by the project beneficiaries.

Enhanced Skill Training on Commercial Value Added Small Millet Products

Comprehensive Skill Training on Millet-based Value added Products Making will be conducted for the project beneficiaries. This training will enhance them on making value addition to Millets such as Ragi Flour, Millet Energy Food packs, Millet Cakes, Millet Cookies, Millet Biscuits, Millet Sauces, Millet Soups, Farm Manure by Millet wastes and other Consumer-based, value-added Small Millet Products. This training will provide Packaging, Labeling, Sales and Marketing Techniques of such products also.

Resource persons and Experts from the relevant field will provide guest lectures and demonstrations on the urgent need to produce a range of value-added products on Millet and highlight the health, nutrition and therapeutic values of millets, addressing the consumers on health and ecological values of millets.

• Conservation of biodiversity of millets at 536 hectares of land in the local area is enhanced.
• The food security of the 6500 poorest of the poor families ensured through Crop improvement programs developed by public private partnership.
• About 250 small and marginal Farmers get assured for permanent and survivable income.
• Over hundreds of hectares of land become agriculturally productive farm lands and with quality produce for the next 5 years.
• Farmer’s varieties of Seed Supply Chain mechanism enhanced and improved.
• Increased awareness about the nutritional facts of Minor Millets among people.
• Promotion of Milnor / Small millets as a health food / functional food to about 4.5 lakhs public in general in the target area by Therapeutic foods commercialization products of the Minor Millets.
• As this project focuses Agriculture development and involving community participation, it has an impact on the surrounding natural resource in the proposed project site.
• By adapting modern technologies, the Minor Millet Cultivated Farmers are involved in Proper utilization of their farm.
• About 18 kinds of Millet based produces become commercially valuable products for public.
• The Training exposures enhanced about 250 small & marginal farmers performed their agricultural process in a smart way.
• The soil quality in their farm land will be well maintained and prevent from soil degradation and lower quality.
• Soil health revival and eco-system sustainability enhanced in the local region
• By giving Seed money and Contract farming the Millet Cultivated Farmers get out the clutches of big owners, and get back their lands in their own name; the Land Rights of the small & marginal farmers are protected.
• Revivals of innovative mixed/ relay cropping systems in the local area.
• Documentation of traditional ethnic products on Mino millets is preserved.
• The Organized marketing structure enhanced and improved corporate business avenues on new products on Minor Millets.
• Primary Cause: