Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) chairman M. Kodandaram urged the government to promote millet cultivation across the State.
Participating as chief guest in Mobile Biodiversity Festival that began at Lachhunaik tanda in Zaheerabad mandal on Saturday, Prof. Kodandaram said preparing rice-based food was rare in Telangana as people used to consume millets more.
“The government should offer incentives for millet cultivation. The number of farmers’ suicides is more in places where cotton is being cultivated. We will make all efforts to promote millet cultivation,” he said and urged the Deccan Development Society (DDS), which organised the festival, to conduct the same in Hyderabad too for two days.
Introduce millets in PDS
DDS director P.V. Satheesh said for the past 18 years, they were conducting the biodiversity festival involving women farmers who cultivate millets.
“The Union Government, in its Food Security Act, has suggested including millets in Public Distribution System (PDS). Except Karnataka, no other State has implemented it despite our repeated appeals,” he said and added as the number of bullocks has come down in the region, only 10 bullock carts were mobilised which were decorated with about 50 to 60 varieties of millets.
He also said that the government was promoting cultivation of soya and maize instead of millets.
Dr. Nageswara Rao from Indian Institute of Millet Research said commercial crops have replaced millets in the State. He urged the government to introduce millets in PDS.
Women farmers Chandrakala and Mogulamma said they were using cow dung and other material for millet cultivation as they did not want to use chemical fertilisers or pesticides. They urged the government to offer subsidy for millet seeds as well.
The month-long biodiversity festival would conclude on February 13.
