The Assam Millet Mission was established by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with the goal of expanding and increasing millet cultivation throughout the state.
In addition to launching the Millet Mission, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma also opened two knowledge centres in Dhemaji and Titabor as well as six soil testing and quality control labs in Bongaigaon, Morigaon, Udalguri, Golaghat, Karimganj, and Darrang. Sarma started the distribution of 126 combination harvesters, 1000 mini trucks, 450 village level farm machinery banks, 12000 solar PV pump sets, 8500 five HP diesel pump sets, 5091 power tillers, 223963 quintals of seeds, and 1461 multipurpose pulverizers in time with the schedule.
Sarma said, “In the annals of agriculture history of the state, it is a historic day. The day which marks the launching of Assam Millet Mission is targeted to raise nutrition quotient and doubling of farmers’ income. The mission will also increase crop productivity and contribute to crop diversification”.
Expand farming to cultivate millets
The mission has been initiated in coordination with the Prime Minister’s goal of Atmanirbharta (self-sufficiency). With the introduction of the millet mission, Assamese farmers can expand their farming to cultivate millets in addition to conventional crops, allowing them to diversify their cropping techniques.
He thus commended the Agriculture Department for having the initiative to start the millet mission, which will first be implemented on 25.000 hectares of cropland. It will then be extended to the state’s 50,000 hectares of farmland.
He said that the knowledge centres he launched would help the state’s farmers in learning more about millet cultivation and providing assistance. He announced that 96 additional knowledge centres will be established around the state in the coming days as part of the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) in order to dramatically increase agricultural production.
Chief Minister Sarma asked the farmers to utilise Mission Basundhara 2.0 to change the status of their properties to Patta land. He added that government has set the MSP for paddy at Rs. 2040 per quintal starting in the 2023.
He, therefore, asked the farmers to sell their paddy to the government. He also said that with the subsidy, the government is helping the local youth to set up mills and other agri infrastructure. Agriculture Minister Atul Bora while speaking on the occasion gave a brief outline of the schemes of his department for the growth of agriculture.
He thanked the Assam Chief Minister for leading the way in helping the Agriculture department to launch different schemes for the welfare of the farmers and the growth of agricultural production.
