Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the G20 countries to embrace Millets as the food of choice.
“They have been cultivated for thousands of years. But markets and marketing have influenced our choices so much that we forgot the value of traditionally grown food crops. Let us embrace Shri Anna Millets as the food of our choice,” he said.
“These superfoods are not only healthy to consume, but also help raise the incomes of our farmers by using less water, needing less fertiliser, and being more pest-resistant,” he said.
Addressing the G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meet virtually on Friday, the Prime Minister said India’s agriculture policy is a fusion of ‘back to basics’ ‘march to future’ strategies.
Stating that agriculture provides a livelihood for over 250 crore people in the world, he said the primary sector contributes 30 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of developing countries.
The three-day G20 meeting, which began in Hyderabad on Thursday, is working on two concrete outcomes – The ‘Deccan High-level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition and the ‘Maharishi initiative for Millets and other grains.
Also read: G20 meeting of chief agriculture-scientists begin, focus on nutritional security
Food security
Asking the G20 countries to deliberate on how to undertake collective action to achieve global food security, he felt there was a need to find ways to build sustainable and inclusive food systems, focussed on marginal farmers.
Besides finding ways to strengthen global fertiliser supply chains, the world needed to adopt agricultural practices to enhance soil health, crop health and yields.
“Traditional practices from different parts of the world may inspire us to develop alternatives for regenerative agriculture. We need to empower our farmers with innovation and digital technology,” he said.
Calling for efforts to provide affordable solutions for small and marginal farmers in the Global South (developing and poor countries), he said there was an urgent need to reduce agricultural and food waste, and instead invest in creating wealth from waste.
Also read: Govt targets to procure 7.5 lt millets, Karnataka to contribute 6 lt
Challenges
“Today, this sector faces several challenges. The supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic have been worsened by the impact of geo-political tensions. Climate Change is causing extreme weather events frequently. These challenges are felt most by the Global South,” he said.
“We are promoting natural farming as well as technology-enabled farming. Farmers all over India are taking up natural farming now. They are not using synthetic fertilisers or pesticides,” he said.
Their focus was on rejuvenating mother earth, protecting soil health, producing ‘per drop, more crop’, and promoting organic fertilisers and pest management solutions, he said.