Millet Threshers Demonstration & Distribution Programme

12^th & 13^th October 2023, Tawang

A Millet Threshers Demonstration and Distribution Programme and Farmer-Scientist Interaction was organized by Almora (Uttarakhand)-based ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan at KVK, Tawang in collaboration with KVK, Tawang, under NEH Programme of Indian Council of Agricultura Research (ICAR) to mark the International Year of Millets 2023.

Shri. K Darang, Deputy Commissioner, Tawang was the Chief Guest of the programme. He appreciated the initiatives taken by ICAR-VPKAS Almora in collaboration with KVK Tawang and assured all possible help from the district administration. Shri. Darang urged farmers to adopt new crop varieties and agricultural technologies to reduce production costs and increase income from agriculture.

Dr. Lakshmi Kant, Director, ICAR-VPKAS, briefed about the initiatives taken by ICAR-VPKAS for the promotion of finger millet in the district, highlighting the successful adoption of the early maturing and high-yielding variety VL Mandua 376 and efforts to extend it through farmer participatory seed production. He highlighted the advantages of the VL Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler, and requested inclusion in state government subsidy schemes to help the thresher reach a larger number of farmers in the district. Dr. Kant also briefed about the steps taken to facilitate organic certification to enable farmers to obtain higher for their finger millet produce.

District Agriculture Officer Shri. T Bam offered to help the farmers with their agricultural-related issues and to make new agricultural technologies available to them.

The functioning of VL Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler was demonstrated to the farmers and, thereafter, 13 threshers were distributed by DC Sh K Darang and Dr Lakshmi Kant to the farmers for community use.

The programme was attended by 20 farmers from villages Bleting, Buri, Gipsu, Kharteng, Kitpi, Lumtsang, Namet, Shakti and Shernup.

(Source: ICAR- Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora)