Millets need a procurement push - A Narayanamoorthy

The Hindu Businessline

With the Centre’s initiative, the UN General Assembly declared 2023 as the international year of millets.

Nutri-cereal crops or millets are the main sources of micronutrients such as calcium, fibre, protein, iron, etc. Given the higher level of micronutrient deficiencies among the large population of India, the continuous reduction in area under nutri-cereals can pose a threat to nutritional security.

Recognising the importance of these crops as well as popularizing their value among consumers, the Centre issued a notification changing the name of coarse cereals to nutri-cereals in 2018.

The Centre has also been announcing attractive minimum support price (MSP) for these crops to encourage the farmers to cultivate them. But, despite various efforts, why has the area under nutria-cereals been continuously declining?

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