PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Uttarakhand State Cooperative Federation has started procuring Mandwa (finger millet) and other millets from the farmers of the State. The State government has fixed a minimum support price of Rs 48.86 per kilogramme for Mandwa and 211 Cooperative Committees are engaged in its procurement.
The Cooperatives minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the State government is committed to promote Millet Mission and has taken many steps to ensure that Mandwa and other millets make their way to the plate of the people.
He said that the mission will also help in doubling the income of the farmers. With this endeavour, the State government is directly procuring Mandwa from the farmers, the minister said. He informed that the government has set up 43 procurement centres in Almora, 22 in Chamoli, 13 each in Bageshwar and Uttarkashi, 17 in Pauri, 24 in Pithoragarh, 30 in Tehri, 10 in Rudraprayag, 17 in Nainital and three in Dehradun for Mandwa.
Rawat added that last year 31,640 quintal of Mandwa was purchased at Rs 42.90 per kilogramme from 10,000 farmers and this year the government has taken a procurement target of 50,000 quintal of Mandwa from the farmers.
“Our objective is that the income of farmers of Uttarakhand is augmented with the help of Mandwa and other nutritious products. We will ensure that the millets and other products make their presence in the global market with the help of the State Cooperative Federation. The government has prepared a roadmap and business plan for this. Earlier the support price of Mandwa was at Rs 18 per kilogramme which is now Rs 48.86 per kilogramme,’’ he said.
The managing director of the State Cooperative Federation, Anand Shukla said that the procurement of millets has started from October 1. A campaign for millet procurement has been launched on social media with the help of cooperative committees in the rural areas. He said this year Mandwa is being procured at Rs 4886 per quintal and a sum of Rs 100 per quintal will be paid to the cooperative committee as an incentive.
