Bhubaneswar: Promoting millet consumption, conserving indigenous seed varieties and strengthening climate-resilient agriculture were the key focus areas at the conference ‘Shree Anna and Strengthening of Indigenous Seed Systems–2026’ held in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
The conference highlighted the need to make millets an integral part of daily diets, preserve traditional agricultural knowledge and improve farmers’ incomes through sustainable farming practices.
Inaugurating the event, Odisha Governor Brajmohan Ram urged the younger generation, students and government employees to include millets such as ragi (finger millet), bajra (pearl millet) and jowar (sorghum) in their regular diets. He said healthy food habits were important not only for individual well-being but also for recognising the contribution of farmers and preserving the country’s agricultural heritage.
Highlighting the traditional importance of millets, the Governor said these crops had been cultivated and consumed in India for centuries. In Odisha, particularly in tribal and drought-prone regions, millet farming is closely linked to local livelihoods and cultural practices. Promoting ragi cultivation, he added, would help improve farmers’ incomes while preserving the state’s agricultural heritage.
He also underlined the role of millets in addressing agricultural challenges arising from climate change, erratic rainfall, rising temperatures and water scarcity. Their low water requirements, relatively lower cultivation costs and ability to withstand adverse climatic conditions make them a viable option for sustainable agriculture.
Pointing to their nutritional benefits, he said millets are rich in dietary fibre and essential nutrients. Their regular consumption can encourage healthier food habits amid the growing incidence of lifestyle-related conditions such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension.
The Governor stressed the need to strengthen processing, packaging, value addition and marketing facilities to help millet-based products from Odisha reach wider domestic and international markets.
On indigenous seed conservation, he called for establishing community-based seed banks, documenting traditional varieties and encouraging seed exchange practices. Traditional seeds, he said, represent generations of farmers’ experience and indigenous knowledge and play an important role in preserving agricultural biodiversity.
He also highlighted the contribution of tribal communities and women farmers as custodians of traditional seeds, calling for the integration of their knowledge with modern science and technology, along with better market linkages.
Appreciating the state government’s Shree Anna Abhiyan and the Centre’s initiatives to promote millets, the Governor said collective efforts to conserve traditional seeds, protect agricultural diversity and enhance farmers’ incomes would contribute to the goals of ‘Viksit Odisha 2036’ and ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’.
Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, ICAR Director General Dr Mangi Lal Jat, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation Chairperson and former Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan, and Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology Vice-Chancellor Prof Pravat Kumar Roul also addressed the conference.
