IYM: International Year of Millet (IYM) begins; Indian embassies across more than 140 countries are participating in the celebration. According to the officials, the embassies will conduct events involving diaspora through exhibition, seminars, talks etc.

Millets were among the first crops to be domesticated in India with several evidence of its consumption during the Indus valley civilization. Being grown in more than 130 countries at present, Millets are considered traditional food for more than half a billion people across Asia and Africa.

In India, Millets are primarily a kharif crop, requiring less water and agricultural inputs than other similar staples. Millets are important by the virtue of its mammoth potential to generate livelihoods, increase farmers’ income and ensure food & nutritional security all over the world.

Indian Embassy In Azerbaijan & Belarus

Embassy of India in Azerbaijan and Embassy of India in Belarus will be conducting activities such as B2B meeting with the participation of local chambers, food bloggers, importers of food items and local restaurants.

Exhibitions, contests will be organized with the help of Indian diaspora. Millets dishes will be served as part of the Republic Day celebrations.

Millets are an integral part of the G-20 meetings and delegates will be given a true millet experience through tasting, meeting farmers and interactive sessions with start-ups and FPOs, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The High Commission of India in Abuja and Consulate General of India in Lagos, as part of promotion of IYM. They have planned a Millets Food Festival and a Millets Food preparation.

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External Minister S. Jaisahankar On IYM

Millets are far healthier than rice and wheat one eats daily and offer a completely different value proposition at a time when there is a worry about a global food shortage, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.

S Jaishankar addressed the members of Indian diaspora in the Austrian capital. Minister said, India can grow millets which offers a solution to the growing food demands across the globe.

January 1 has lined up a series of millet-centric promotional activities across the country as the IYM kicks in.

India’s Stance On IYM

Jaishankar said, “Millets are far healthier for all of us than the cereals, rice and wheat we eat every day. It was the food that was most prevalent in our societies till it was displaced. It requires much less water and is much more carbon friendly.”

“Today in a world where there is worry about food shortage, millet offers a completely different value proposition. In fact, today for almost every five kilos of wheat grown in India, one kilo of millets is grown and consumed,” he said.

Millets were among the first crops to be domesticated in India. There are several evidence of its consumption during the Indus valley civilization. More than 130 countries, millet is considered traditional food for more than half a billion people across Asia and Africa.

“We can actually grow it. It is a solution to a lot of our growing food demands. Not just us, but also a lot of countries in Africa, Asia and parts of the Middle East,” said Jaishankar, who arrived in Austria from Cyprus on the second leg of his two-nation tour.

On December 6, the UN body Food and Agriculture Organization organised an opening ceremony for the IYM in Rome, Italy. The Indian government hosted a special ‘Millet Luncheon’ for Members of Parliament in the Parliament complex.

-Bharat Express