“The State government is committed to popularising the use of millets,” Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi said in Belagavi on Friday. He said that the State government was introducing schemes to promote cultivation of millets and also to ensure that millet farmers got exposure and remunerative price for their produce.
He was speaking after inaugurating a Millets Walk organised in the city by the zilla panchayat and the district administration.
He walked along with students, farmers, members of NGOs and officers, from the Rani Channamma Circle to the S.G. Balekundri Engineering College, the venue of the mela. The two-day Millet Mela will start on Saturday. Students held placards and posters speaking about the health benefits of millets and the ease of cultivating them.
He said that the State government was organising millet melas in several places to create awareness about the health benefits of consuming millets. Once there is an increase in consumption, there will be a larger market for such foodgrains. That will automatically ensure that farmers get remunerative prices, he said. He expressed concern that the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides was affecting soil health. This leads to reduced output and increases the cost of cultivation also. Ultimately, it may make the soil unproductive. That is why we have to watch out against the misuse of chemical fertilizers, he said. Belagavi Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer K.V. Rajendra, Joint Director of Agriculture Jilani Mokashi, Deputy Director H.D. Kolekar and Assistant Director Ravindra Hakati and others were present.
