Agriculture experts encourage farmers to grow minor millets
Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya organised two-day training programmes to promote minor millets under organic and natural farming for Scheduled Caste (SC) farmers of the state. Conducted at the National Centre of Natural Farming, under the Department of Organic Agriculture and Natural Farming, the programmes witnessed participation from 100 farmers. The first training was held on April 6-7, followed by the second one on April 8-9. The programmes aimed at strengthening the socio-economic status of SC farmers while popularising climate-resilient minor millets through scientific organic and natural farming practices.
Vice-Chancellor Prof AK Panda lauded the initiative, stating that millet farming held immense potential for ensuring nutritional security, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods in hill agriculture. He said promoting minor millets under natural farming not only reduces dependency on external inputs but also enhances soil health and biodiversity. He further highlighted that such capacity-building programmes were crucial for empowering marginalised farming communities and aligning agriculture with sustainable development goals.
The trainings were sponsored by ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research under the SCSP scheme and were chaired by Dr Janardan Singh, Head of the Department of Organic Agriculture and Natural Farming. Dr Singh motivated farmers to cultivate millets such as finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet and barnyard millet under natural farming systems to restore soil, animal and human health while reducing contamination caused by synthetic agrochemicals. He also highlighted that millets were climate-resilient, required low inputs and were rich in essential nutrients like calcium, zinc, iron, fibre and protein, with a significantly lower water footprint compared to crops like wheat and paddy.
During the programmes, experts delivered lectures and conducted hands-on training on various aspects of organic and natural farming. Farmers were trained in the preparation of composts, liquid manures and the application of biofertilisers and bio-agents. Bio-agents such as Trichoderma, Metarhizium and Bacillus, along with biofertilisers including PSB, Azotobacter, Azospirillum and Rhizobium, were distributed among participants for eco-friendly pest and nutrient management. Scientists including Dr Rameshwar, Dr Gopal Katna, Dr Rakesh and Dr Abhishek Walia actively contributed to the programmes by delivering expert lectures and demonstrating practical techniques to enhance millet-based farming systems under organic and natural farming.
