New Delhi: In what shall provide a big boost to the livelihood prospects of farmers selling millets, the Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), a Society promoted by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India has launched a unique Millets Giveaway campaign. Citizens can access variety millets products at the click of a button.
“This marketing campaign aims to promote direct buying from small and marginal farmers selling millets through Open Network for Digital Commerce's (ONDC) My Store, the connected marketplace built in for Indian sellers,” said IAS officer Dr Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, MD, SFAC. ONDC is the first-of-its-kind initiative globally to pave the way for reimagining digital commerce in India.
The Millets Giveaway campaign is designed to motivate general public to buy directly from FPO (Farmer Producer Organisation) farmers with the buyers getting pure and authentic produce. With their purchase people support livelihoods of the small & marginal farmers. The buyers also get to experience how easy it is to use the ONDC’s My Store platform. Millets being the focus for the year with #IYM2023, this campaign also motivates more people to adopt Shree Ann.
Speaking about Hulsoor Mahila Kisan Millets Producer Company Limited, founded on March 2, 2021, Dr Kaur said, it is involved in crop cultivation, horticulture, providing support & services to farmers. The FPO resulted in a long-term change in the lifestyle of the farmers of Karnataka's Hulsoor block.
Before joining the FPO, farmers used to cultivate traditional varieties of various crops using conventional farming methods. It added millet to these farmers' crop portfolios as a new crop. The FPO recently established its own input shop, where members can purchase high-quality seeds, fertiliser, and other inputs at reduced prices.
The FPO also has a custom hiring centre where farmers can rent farm machinery. As a result of demonstrated crop cultivation techniques and Good Agricultural Practices to FPO farmers, average crop productivity increased by 30-50%.
With inputs taken from PIB
