The millets from Karnataka are set for international exposure again as this year’s edition of three-day Organics and Millets International Trade Fair is set to be held from Friday here.
The event, being organised by the Department of Agriculture, will be held on the Palace Grounds premises. The main intention of the event is to create new markets for millets in a bid to ensure remunerative price and also to provide consumers access to healthy food.
The fair will see participation from countries such as Chile, Poland, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Singapore, and Switzerland.
Agriculture Minister N.H. Shivashankar Reddy told mediapersons that the demand for millets was seeing an increase as awareness on their health benefits was fast spreading across urban areas.
243 exhibitors
Mr. Reddy said 406 stalls would be put up at the fair. As many as 243 exhibitors from States such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Kerala, and Telangana would participate. There will also be 23 food courts at the venue.
Mr. Reddy said the area under organic cultivation had registered a steady growth in the State — from 2,500 hectares to 40,000 hectares, and the government’s aim was to increase it to 1,50,000 hectares.
Mr. Reddy said the prime focus of the fair would be B2B sessions that would be organised on all the three days.
As many as 100 domestic buyers have registered for the B2B meetings. As many as 85 farmers’ groups representing 15 regional federations, and other farmers’ groups have also registered, according to the Minister.
There will be a cooked millet products display challenge in two categories — savoury and baked products. A drawing competition will be organised for children in the age groups of 5 to 8, and 9 to 16 to create awareness on the importance organics and millets.
Millet outlets
To promote millets and help farmers, the government has spoken to Karnataka Milk Federation to establish millet outlets adjacent to milk booths. “In this regard, we have asked the BBMP to accord permission. We also had an interaction with Hopcoms to sell millets at their outlets. This will be implemented in a phased manner,” the Minister said.
