In the current century, the increasing pressures from erratic weather, soil erosion, biodiversity loss and from consumers’ changing palates for diverse foods and concerns about the production is necessitating to search for alternatives that are farmer and buyer friendly. The agricultural community is facing challenges from weeds, pests and diseases due to extensive use of fertilisers, soil erosion, loss of land fertility and so on.
It is here that millets which are climate independent adapting to different of environmental conditions requiring minimal irrigation with improved growth and productivity in low nutrient input conditions depending minimally on artificial fertilizers and with less vulnerability to environmental stresses that need to be revived as health foods to enhance food and nutritional security. They contain high amounts of proteins, fibre, B-complex vitamins, essential sulphur-containing amino acids and little of vitamin E along with minerals like essential minerals also.
Millets due to their nutritive value have potential health benefits to prevent cancers, reduce tumor proliferation, decrease the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, risk of heart diseases, lowers blood pressure, cholesterol content, delays fat absorption, lowered gastric emptying and improved gastrointestinal bulk. Value-addition to millet grains as ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook items provides greater opportunity to farmers for enhanced income generation, promotes production and marketing leading to nutritional security, employment and revenue generation.
In this context, Nutri Bakers Hub under AICRP on Women in Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition component organized one day training programme cum hands on experience through value addition to millets like baked ragi beetroot fingers and ragi biscuits with the active participation of women associated with KVK, Nandurbar, Maharashtra. They were detailed on the importance of need for inculcating good manners among young children, drudgery reducing devices for enhanced productivity and income generation through tailoring activities.
