Uttarakhand’s Chief Secretary, Radha Raturi, has directed officials to increase millet production in the state during a meeting of the House of Himalaya and Millet Mission at the Vidhan Sabha Bhawan. She instructed the Agriculture and Horticulture Department to identify unused valleys and lands for expanding production of Mandua, Jhangora, and Amaranth.
Raturi emphasized phased implementation of this plan, with priority given to women’s self-help groups. She stressed the active involvement of the Agriculture and Horticulture Department and the Cooperative Department to boost production and procurement of local products. Raturi also instructed the Uttarakhand State Cooperative Federation (UCF) to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the House of Himalaya for this purpose.
Additionally, she urged officials to study input costs to propose minimum support prices (MSP) for Jhangora and Amaranth. Raturi also emphasized the use of millets like Mandua, Jhangora, and Chaulai in food served in government buildings and institutions, highlighting the importance of local millets for the health of women and children.
She instructed the Women Development and Child Welfare Department, as well as the Health Department, to promote these millets and emphasized the role of frontline health workers in this effort. Raturi also directed officials to study established national and international brands for better marketing of local products under the House of Himalaya umbrella brand.
She emphasized the need for quality and certification of products under this brand. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, Secretary R. Meenakshi Sundaram, Radhika Jha, B.V.R.C. Purushottam, Vinod Kumar Suman, Chandresh Kumar, Arvind Singh Hayanki, Additional Secretary Manuj Goyal, and other concerned officers.