DA&FW and NAFED ink MOU to promote millets

A Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU) has been signed between the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) to boost the initiative envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote millets, towards celebration of the International Year of Millets 2023. Both organisations will work together for the promotion and marketing of millet-based products, keeping in view the initiative of “International Year of Millets (IYOM)-2023” proposed by the government of India to the United Nations, which is to be celebrated across the world. As India is gearing up to bring millets back on the global map, it will build support and organise, promote, market, and forge effective market linkages for millet-based products to maximise the value capture and millet-based commodities across the country. DA&FW and NAFED will collaborate in key areas like facilitating advisory support to manufacturers/processors of millet-based products to develop value-added millet-based commodities, onboarding of startups, including those empanelled with the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), formation of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOS) specifically for developing a range of millet-based products, promote and market millet-based products through the network of NAFED Bazaar Stores and other institutions linked with NAFED, as well as installation of millet-based vending machines at various locations across Delhi-ncr and dispensing milletbased products to keep the focus on millets..