FORMAT FOR SUCCESS STORIES

TITLE/NAME OF Model Millet Project - Baksa

PROJECT

Grant Assistance 15.36

Amount(₹ lakh)

DISTRICT Baksa

Introduction The Government of India has given stress on to boost the

production of the nutrient-rich millets and the agro-
industries involved in its production. The observation of the
year of millet will help in the promotion of millet production
and consumption in the country. The increased production of
Millets will help fight against fight against hunger and
mitigate climate change effects in the long run.

Climate change has affected the production of wheat and

paddy in the country, indicating a need to shift focus to coarse
cereals. Cultivation of the two crops will not be enough to
meet the country’s food needs due to erratic weather patterns,
a senior central government official recently observed.
Sustainable agriculture practices also require a shift in usual
farming methods from just wheat and rice.
For the last few years, millets such as jowar, bajra, ragi have
dominated urban consumption baskets through either direct-
cooked consumption, or more popularly, via the fast-moving
consumer goods penetration. In the future, more coarse
cereals might be given out under the public distribution
system
instead of wheat and rice.
Challenges A) Lack of high yielding varieties leading to low
production and productivity.
B) Lack access to good quality seeds, lower use of inputs,
poor quality of management practices.
C) Very low level of mechanization in production and
processing.
D) Acute lack of post-harvest infrastructure such as de-
hulling / de-stoning, cleaning, grading and sorting.
E) The millets require processing for consumption, but
availability of suitable processing facilities near
consumer or market is one of the major constraints.
 F) Poor technology extension and advisory services to
farmers.
G) Low return and poor market integration.
Interventions The key interventions of the project are: -
1. Mobilization and awareness
2. Trainings and capacity building of the farmers.
3. Farm Business Management
4. Pest Management: physical control, prevention
5. Supporting farmers via input procurement (seeds,
materials used for trellis preparation and cultivation.
6. Farm Mechanization
7. Market linkages
Impact The support provided by NABARD has unarguably acted as a
driver for introducing Millets as an additional crop portfolio
amongst the beneficiaries.
The project demonstrated the economic viability of growing
mullets as individual beneficiaries earned Rs 40/- per kg
( after deducting processing and packaging cost).
The project overall earned around Rs 2.84 lakhs from the
establishment of the new revenue source i.e Millets.

Way Forward Based on the success experienced on growing Foxtail Millets,

Finger Millet cultivation has also been promoted in 150
bighas of land, to be followed by foxtail millet cultivation in
the rabi season.
After the successful cultivation of Foxtail millets in FY 2023-
24 with tangible benefits, farmers have expanded the area
under foxtail millets now covering 216 acres of land under 3
districts of Assam with 200 farmer beneficiaries. As the
millets are under growing stage, we are waiting for the
results.
The details are:
Total Land under Millet Demo – 216 Acres [ in 3 Districts – Baksa,
Barpeta and Hailakandi]
Total no of Farmers – 200 Farmers
 To develop a Millet value chain manufacturing of Millet based
Ready to Eat snacks like
1. Biscuits
2. Laddoo
3. Khichdi
4. Kheer Mix etc is being promoted and enabled amongst
the project beneficiaries, with a target to increase the
number in the coming months.
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