Madhya Pradesh has set up a high-powered committee to encourage farmers to bring more area under coarse cereals in the 2020-21 (Jul-Jun) rabi season, an official with the state farm department said today.
"The committee is also formed to promote processing and marketing of coarse cereals crops under Rajya Millet and Jaivik Mission," the official said. The committee has around 17 members.
Coarse cereals have high nutritional value. As such, their nutritional significance should be well advertised, and they should be made available easily in retail markets, the official said. Madhya Pradesh is one of the leading growers of coarse cereals in the country.
According to the fourth advance estimate, the state produced 1 mln tn of coarse cereals in 2019-20. This was barring maize, which was harvested over 4 mln tn in the state. Key coarse cereals include kodo, kutaki, jowar, bajra and barley.
Maize is not part of the coarse cereals promotion programme as it is already widely grown and consumed. Major buyers of maize are from starch and livestock feed sectors. "Efforts are being made to increase the area under coarse cereals in 2020-21 rabi season," the official said. Sowing of most rabi crops has been started and the state government expects higher sowing this year, he added. Rabi coarse cereals are sown during Nov-Dec and harvested in Mar-Apr.
