Chhattisgarh leads the way in millet procurement at support prices
State Government’s proactive steps lead to a surge in millet cultivation
Raipur (thestates.news) |Chhattisgarh is emerging as a ‘Millet Hub’ in the country. Due to the state government’s proactive efforts to encourage millet cultivation, there has been a significant surge in the cultivation of Kodo, Kutki, and Ragi crops. The implementation of the Millet Mission further aims to promote millet cultivation across the state. Notably, the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading & Development) Co-operative Federation Limited has successfully procured 5,273 tonnes of millets, amounting to Rs 16.03 crore, during the year 2021-22 and 13,050 tonnes of millets amounting to Rs 39.60 crores in the year 2022-23.
With a vision to expand millet cultivation, the state has set a target of increasing the area under millet cultivation from 96,000 hectares to 1.60 lakh hectares during the Kharif Year 2023.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel, a special initiative has been taken to procure millets at support prices. Chhattisgarh stands as the sole state in the country where the purchase of Kodo, Kutki, and Ragi is facilitated at support prices, along with their value addition. The state government has fixed the support price for Kodo-Kutki at Rs 3,000 per quintal, while that for Ragi has been set at Rs 3,377 per quintal. In the previous season, farmers sold an impressive 34,298 quintals of millets worth Rs 10.45 crores at support prices.
