Page 19 - Millets Natures NutriGrain

practices. Millets are now being promoted as a climate-smart and
environment-friendly crop, and efforts are underway to revive their
cultivation and promote their use in traditional recipes.

From the data collected from 120 millet growers in Tamil Nadu,
it was found that even though the farmers know the cultivation of
millets there is no awareness about the productivity and profitability
of millets amongst farmers leading to low adoption of cultivation of
millets.

4.1.2. Uttarakhand:

Uttarakhand, a state located in the northern region of India, has a rich
history of millet cultivation dating back centuries. Millets have been

an important crop for the people of Uttarakhand, providing a source
of food and income for local farmers. However, with the advent of
modern agriculture and the promotion of cash crops, the cultivation
of millet was side-lined. But, because of the government’s efforts,
Uttarakhand has again seen an increase in the cultivation of millets

in recent years.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare,
Government of Uttarakhand, the production of millets in the state was
66,034 metric tons in 2017-18, which increased to 71,696 metric tons

in 2018-19. This represents an increase of approximately 8.5% in just
one year. The government of Uttarakhand has also taken initiatives
to provide marketing support to millet farmers. The government has

established various millet processing units and is extending support
for the branding and packaging of millet-based products. These
policy decisions are positively pushing the cultivation of millet in
Uttarakhand.

The research study conducted in Uttarakhand found that there are

19 Millets: 2023