Bhubaneswar, February 2: A delegation of 15 officials from the Assam Millets Mission (AMM) got insights from the successful interventions of the Odisha Millets Mission (OMM) during an exposure visit to Odisha from January 29-31.
Led by Dr. Pranab Kumar Mahanta, Agriculture Adviser, Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation project (APART), the team comprised officials from the Departments of Agriculture, School Education and Assam Agricultural University, Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation project (APART), and Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) Society.
During the visit, the AMM team received detailed information from the officials of the State Project Management Unit of OMM, covering various components of the Odisha Millets Mission.
Particular emphasis was given on the Procurement and Seed system, prompting inquiries from AMM officials, all of which were comprehensively addressed by the OMM team.
Addressing the Assam Millets Mission team, State Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Secretary Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee said, “You should carry out this in a mission mode approach, establish a programme secretariat led by an organisation with grassroots experience and a knowledge secretariat. There should be a long-term budget allocated for this. There should be flexibility in the implementation norms.”
“Procurement has been the key to Odisha Mission’s Success. We are also working on benchmark prices for non-ragi millets. We believe our experience in OMM will definitely contribute to the success of your millets mission,” he said.
Dr. Pranab Kumar Mahanta, Agriculture Adviser, APART, Government of Assam, conveyed gratitude, stating, “We have come here to learn from the Odisha Millets Mission, a model not only successful in millet promotion but also acknowledged by organisations nationally and internationally.”
On the first day of the exposure visit, the officials visited the Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT), Millet Shakti Cafe situated at the Kalinga Stadium, Kala Bhoomi Odisha Crafts Museum and a millet processing unit at Baramunda in Bhubaneswar.
In the next two days, the team visited the field to experience ragi procurement activities, ragi crop demonstration, processing units and seed centre.
