The Council of Ministers under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday decided to implement Madhya Pradesh State Millet Mission Scheme in the State. The scheme will be implemented in all the districts through the Director, Farmers’ Welfare and Agriculture Development. The duration of the scheme will be of 2 years (2023-24 and 2024-25). In these two years, Rs 23.25 crore will be spent under the scheme. Improved certified seeds of millets will be provided to the farmers on 80 per cent subsidy from co-operative/government institutions. A state-level committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of Agriculture Production Commissioner for monitoring the scheme.

The activities of the Millet Mission Scheme will be widely publicised. To promote the production, processing and marketing of millet crops, there will be training programmes for farmers and study tours outside the State. Fairs, workshops, seminars, food festivals, road-shows will be organised at district and state level to promote millet.

It is noteworthy that millet grain crops were once at the centre of the food culture of the state. At present, keeping in view the nutritional importance of these crops, it is necessary to promote them. These crops are often cultivated in less fertile areas. At present, the demand for millet crops is increasing due to rising health awareness among the consumers.

Crops like Kodo, Kutki, Ragi, Sava are very beneficial from the point of view of health. Keeping in view the importance of these millet crops, they have been given the status of nutritious grains. The grains of these crops are rich in iron, calcium, fiber etc. Along with this, the percentage of fat is also less in them, so their consumption by heart patients and diabetes patients has been found to be safe. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage the cultivation of millet crops among the farmers and to propagate the dishes prepared from millet crops. There are ample possibilities of expansion of area, increasing productivity and production of Kodo-Kutki, Jowar and Ragi in Madhya Pradesh. Along with this, in view of the growing market of millet crops, the possibility of value addition is also very high. In government programmes where food is arranged, one dish of millets will be served. Arrangements will be made to use millets in the hostels and mid-day meals once a week.

Approval of amendment related to mandi fee reimbursement on wheat export: The Cabinet approved the amendment in the departmental notification on April 7, 2022, regarding reimbursement of mandi fee on wheat exports. According to the amendment, the benefit of reimbursement of mandi fees will be considered on the notified agricultural produce wheat purchased for the purpose of export in any agricultural produce market area of the state. Reimbursement of mandi fees will be available on the quantity purchased from the payment slip of the notified agricultural produce ‘Wheat’. Mandi fees will not be reimbursed on notified agricultural commodities bought and sold by traders from other states of the country for commercial purposes. Submission of application for reimbursement of mandi fees will be mandatory. The amount of mandi fee reimbursement will be borne from the agricultural produce export promotion head of the budget provision of the Mandi Board.

Approval to inclusion of transgender in the list of backward classes The Cabinet approved the inclusion of transgenders on serial number 94 after serial number 93 in the list of Madhya Pradesh backward classes. Administrative approval to Dungaria Micro Irrigation Project in Ujjain: Administrative approval was given by the Council of Ministers for Dungaria Micro Irrigation Project costing Rs 104.74 crore, irrigated area of 3,000 hectare. Through the micro irrigation method of the project, 8 villages of Mahidpur development block of Ujjain will get the benefit of irrigation facility. Revised administrative approval of Tiktoli Distributary Project: Revised administrative approval has been given by the Cabinet for Tiktoli Distributary (fed from Harsi high level main canal) Project costing Rs 44.90 crore, total irrigated area 3,700 hectares. The farmers of 27 villages of Gwalior district will get the benefit of irrigation facilities from the project. Other decisions: The Council of Ministers has decided to get the procurement of Moong and Urad from registered farmers done by State procurement agency MP State Co-operative Marketing Federation Limited during the summer year 2021-22 (marketing year 2022-23) in the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) of the Government of India.