India showcases organic food and millets at Dubai Expo 2020

Mangalore Today News Network

Dubai, Feb 19, 2022: India is showcasing itself as investment destination in the food and agriculture sector, launching a Food, Agriculture and Livelihood fortnight at the India pavilion of Expo2020, Dubai on Friday with an aim to attract high-end cultivation technologies and push Indian millets and organic farm products in global markets.

 

The Indian contingent at the event included the agriculture ministry’s additional secretary Abhilaksh Likhi, joint secretary Shubha Thakur and several representatives from the food, hospitality and farm companies.

At the event, the country will focus on promoting millets, with India playing a key role in bringing a UN resolution to declare 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The country is also aiming to open up Indian organic food products to global markets as well as farm technologies based on drones, artificial intelligence and big data, an official said.

The recent Union Budget 2022-23 also proposed special schemes to promote millets or coarse cereals — key ingredients in the breakfast cereals, biscuits and healthy-snacks segments. Millets are a rich source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre.

India grows a wide variety of millets, which are mostly grown by small farmers in states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka. These include major millets such as sorghum (jowar), pearl and finger (ragi) millets, apart from six minor crops such as foxtail, barnyard, proso, brown top and kodo.

An official statement said the Food, Agriculture and Livelihood fortnight, being held from February 17– March 2, will have sessions under key themes of millets, food processing, horticulture, dairy, fisheries and organic farming.

“Indian farmers produce food that not only sustains India but also provides food security to the world. Millets are an important area for us, and we would like to utilise this global platform to learn about the health and nutritional aspects of millets and bring back the glory of millets,” the statement quoted joint secretary Shubha Thakur as saying.

Courtesy:Hindustan Times