Since the government of India had announced that the fiscal year 2022-2023 will be celebrated as the ‘International Year of Millets’, many foundations and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) have started taking every possible initiative to make the Indian Government’s ‘Millet Mission’ a grand success by empowering farmers in every possible way.
The internationally acclaimed Divine Group Foundation (DGF), is one such group that is playing a major role by helping farmers to become aware of it and support the government’s millet mission. Divine Group Foundation (DGF) had also collaborated with other NGOs and groups to support the government’s millet mission.
Deepak Agarwal Founder & CEO of Divine Group said, “The Foundation in association with Gauvritti mission has undertaken several projects in the remote areas of India and has approached thousands of farmers who do not have a proper system to sell Millets. The organization has also touched many other NGOs to support the government’s Millet mission. To help the farmers move out of poverty, you need to help them improve their productivity,”.
It is widely believed that small millets are an ancient crop as it has been grown in our country since ancient times. It is an ideal crop as a small amount of water is needed for the cultivation of it. If we compare to the commercial crops that are grown with irrigation water, the small millets need no irrigation.
The proposal initiated by India to celebrate the International Year of Millets in 2023 got unanimous approval from all the 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly last year. Countries like Russia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Senegal supported the idea and the proposal got co-sponsored by more than 70 nations in the United Nations. The aim behind this move is to create awareness and inspire all stakeholders to work towards improving the production and productivity of the climate-resilient and nutritious millets across the globe. The government of India had also announced that it would support post-harvest value addition to increase domestic consumption of millet at the international level.
The prestigious University Grants Commission (UGC), India’s apex higher educational body, had decided to observe 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
Many agricultural scientists also believe that since India, which supports more than 15% of the world’s population, but only has 4% of its water resources, the promotion of millets could be helpful in the long run to efficiently feed the growing population. It is believed that an increase in the production of and demand for millets is the need of the hour for the country.
Apart from the above-mentioned initiative, Divine Group Foundation is contributing to the betterment of society in many ways like it is running a Miss Divine Beauty, a National beauty pageant working towards environmental protection and women empowerment. It has taken the unique initiative by giving tasks to thousands of contestants, as a part of their selection process in the contest, to run awareness programs in their local areas to promote Millets and environmental causes.