New Delhi: The National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed) in collaboration with the Ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare (MoA&FW) on Friday set up the Millets Experience Centre (MEC) at Dilli Haat in New Delhi with an aim to raise awareness on millets and encourage its adoption among general public.
Union minister of agriculture & farmers welfare Narendra Singh Tomar along with Nafed managing director Rajbir Singh launch of the first of its kind centre.
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). The declaration positioned India at the forefront of the celebrations and the Government of India has been working on ‘mission mode’ to champion millets as a crop good for farmer, environment and consumer.
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The ministry-led initiative of establishing a consumer-oriented MEC would not only promote the dietary benefits of the ancient grain, but also popularize millets or Shree Anna as a nutritional powerhouse fit for cooking a variety of dishes like Millets dosa, Millets pasta etc. In addition to a unique dining experience, customers can also purchase a variety of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products from local millet start-ups at the MEC, said an official of MoA&FW.
In his inaugural address, Tomar said India is gearing towards becoming a global hub for millets. The setting up of the MEC is a step in that direction. “Situated in the heart of Delhi, Dilli Haat is a national & cultural hub for visitors from all around the world, the MEC will further help the global outreach of the local millets and provide visitors a chance to witness India’s millet movement,” the minister added.
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Secretary, department of agriculture & farmers welfare, Manoj Ahuja highlighted the government-led initiatives for mainstreaming millets and said the collaboration between Nafed and the ministry would help widen the horizon for consumers, who are actively looking for healthier alternatives and bring visibility to India’s robust millet-based start-up community. He also said more MECs are likely to open across Delhi and other states very soon through partnership with retail chains, hotels and F&B industry.
Nafed MD Rajbir Singh said that the MEC was a unique concept that would help in the recognition of the immense potential of millets (Shree Anna) as a versatile and healthy grain. He added that this MEC (Shree Anna) will enable the consumers to enjoy an expansive millet menu and an ‘in-store’ shopping experience featuring a wide variety of millet-based products developed by home grown startups- all under one roof.
