Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi announced that millets will now be included in the midday meal programme in schools and will also be made available to people through public distribution system.
He said that the state government was continuously engaged in the promotion of millet cultivation, production and consumption besides increasing farmers' income through it.
"By including millets in the midday meals, we want to increase the nutrition being provided to children and also help them develop a taste for millets," he said.
The minister also said the government was also working for the betterment of soil health and that of people. "Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India and the fourth largest in terms of area and the state's land is suitable and conducive for cultivation of coarse grains," said Shahi.
This comes after the United Nations General Assembly, while accepting India's proposal, declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets on March 5, 2021.
