With an aim to reduce imports of oilseeds, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that nearly 4 lakh hectare area of rice fallow will be used for oilseeds cultivation in 100 districts of 10 states.
While speaking at a webinar on 'Smart Agriculture: Bringing Back Glory of Millets; Moving Towards Aatmanirbharta in Edible Oil' Goyal added that 230 high-yielding districts of oilseeds have been identified and nearly 20 lakh hectares area will also be brought under intercropping of oilseeds in the next 5 years.
Goyal also stressed the need to promote the production and export of millets. “Bringing back the glory of millets will make the country Aatmanirbhar in 3 areas-Food, Nutrition and Economy," Shri Goyal added.
“States can duplicate the success of Karnataka’s Fruits Model for crop diversification with a focus on millets. Also, collaboration with Agri startups to provide the latest tech to ensure quality & aid in biofortification of millets would help boost millet exports," Goyal said.
Minister pointed out that India is the 2nd-largest producer and 2nd-largest exporter of millets in the world. He added that the government has taken reformative steps which have led to the highest procurement of food grains from farmers at MSP-KMS 2021-22 benefitted 64 lakh farmers while RMS 2021-22 benefitted nearly 48 lakh farmers.
“Today, India is set on a path to become Aatmanirbhar. In this mission, the government is working towards realizing the image of a self-reliant farmer with the best crops," Goyal said, adding that smart agriculture is about using technology to leapfrog into a new era to build a resilient infrastructure for farmers.
