Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS) Rajouri held a Capacity Building Programme on Millets as Climate Resilient Crops on 5 September. The goal of the programme was to teach farmers and locals about millets’ values and benefits. The event took place in the town of Irwan Khanetar in the city of Rajouri.
Millets, which are often called “poor man’s food,” are becoming more and more popular all over the world because they are good for your health and can help you eat better.
In the Union region of Jammu and Kashmir, there is a big push to bring back millet farming for reasons of nutrition, health, and climate resistance. Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) has given SKUAST Jammu a project to promote millets and nutri-cereals. As part of this project, different field trials and programmes to build capacity are being held in different parts of Jammu province. In response to this, a one-day capacity-building workshop for farmers in the mid-hills was set up in the town of Irwan Khetar. The goal of this event was to teach farmers about the value of millets as crops that can withstand climate change.
Farmers, including farmwomen, from the area came to the event, which was led by Dr. Vikas Sharma, who is the Chief Scientist and Head of RARS in Rajouri.
He talked to the farmers and told them how to grow millets and what benefits they have. This helped the people in the area make a better living.
Dr. Meenakshi Gupta, a professor of agronomy and the project’s lead researcher, spoke at the event. She talked in detail about the nutritional value of millets and their potential as processed and value-added products. She also stressed the importance of turning millets into an agribusiness through branding, marketing, and packaging.
She told the people there to keep their hopes high and dream big about the millet revolution for a better country.
Dr. Rohit Sharma, a scientist in agrometeorology, showed the guests around the farmers’ fields and told them about the agronomic package and best practises for growing different kinds of millet.
