By Bhakti Kothari

The ‘Mission Arunachal Foxtail Millets’ project, a joint initiative of the Tirap district administration and the Farm Native Group to boost millet production and provide wide marketing linkages, was recently launched by Deomali ADC Vishakha Yadav for her sub-division, which is heavily insurgency laden and filled with drug addiction related issues, leading to a decline in overall development.

Indian Masterminds spoke exclusively with the officer who shared details about the millet project.

People in the tiny district were not exposed to modern-day education and farming operations due to a lack of exposure in the area. The district, on the other hand, is home to special foxtail millets, the nutritional value of which was previously unknown to the region’s farmers.

“During a field trip one day, I stumbled across a small foxtail millet field and discovered that practically every home in the region was producing these millets because the climate and soil were so conducive to the crop that it required no maintenance or effort! Because of a lack of exposure and understanding, generational crops were rapidly dwindling, and I realised something had to be done in this circumstance,” Ms. Yadav told Indian Masterminds.

TRAINING

The officer worked with a private partner to form large clusters of farmers by organising them into groups and commencing collective farming. They then used Krishi Vigyan Kendras to teach these farmers about the importance of foxtail millets and train them in plantation techniques, soil selection, and sorting out dry/wet grains, among other things.

“We planned to provide them with forward and backward linkages in which we would teach them organic farming practises and supply them with high-grade organic seeds for initial plantation. When the crops are harvested, the produce is separated, collected, packed, and promoted for sale online or in large retail stores across the country,” she shared.

The officer has scaled the strategy for the next five years, after which she hopes the farmer clusters will be self-sufficient and able to carry on the process without assistance.

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