Union Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Kailash Chaudhary today said that Millets will soon become the staple diet of Indians due its nutritional values.
Addressing the 9th International Chefs Conference-2023, organised by the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations at Hotel Ashok in Delhi, Shri Choudhary said, spearheaded by the Prime Minister, the International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 proposal was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The declaration has been instrumental for the Government of India to be at the forefront in celebrating the IYM. The PM of India, Shri Narendra Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a ‘People’s Movement’ alongside positioning India as the ‘Global Hub for Millets’.
Shri Choudhary said, ‘Millets’ were among the first crops to be domesticated in India with several evidence of its consumption during the Indus valley civilization. Being grown in more than 130 countries at present, Millets are considered traditional food for more than half a billion people across Asia and Africa. In India, millets are primarily a kharif crop, requiring less water and agricultural inputs than other similar staples. Millets are important by the virtue of its mammoth potential to generate livelihoods, increase farmers’ income and ensure food & nutritional security all over the world.
Shri Choudhary said, through a collaborative approach, the DA&FW urges everyone including the International Organizations, Academia, Hotels, Media, Indian Diaspora, Start-up communities, Civil Society, and all others in the Millets value-chain to come forward and join hands to revive the forgotten glory of ‘Miracle Millets’ through the grand celebration of International Year of Millets – 2023.
In his address. Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Manoj Ahuja said that with the popularization of millets in the country, it will lead to increase in incomes of small and Marginal farmers. Taking note of the high Agricultural growth over the past few years and its robust contribution in overall GDP, Shri Ahuja said, Government is ready to take all steps to make Agriculture Sector the most modern one through adoption of new and emerging technologies.
Recognizing the enormous potential of Millets, which also aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Government of India (GoI) has prioritized Millets. In April 2018, Millets were rebranded as “Nutri Cereals”, followed by the year 2018 being declared as the National Year of Millets, aiming at larger promotion and demand generation. The global millets market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period between 2021-2026.
On 6th December 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, organized an opening ceremony for the International Year of Millets – 2023 at Rome, Italy. The event was attended by a delegation of senior government officials from India. Next in the series, prior to the year-long celebration of ‘International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023’, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare hosted a special ‘Millet Luncheon’ for the Members of the Parliament at the Parliament house.
Earlier, Mr Choudhary was part of the program to kick-start the Millets & Organics 2023 – International Trade Fair in Bengaluru in January this year.
The exhibition segment of the event was inaugurated by Shri. Basavaraj Bommai, Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka. Followed by the inaugural ceremony, Shri Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal & Mines, inaugurated the Karnataka Pavilion. Union Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Kailash Choudhary also graced the event and inaugurated the B2B networking part.
Shri Kailash Choudhary, in his address highlighted that the budget allocation towards farmers has increased 6 times under the leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi. Additionally, he also said that the country is focussed on developing 10,000 FPOs and aiding farmers in setting up sorting and grading units, along with production of value-added products which are export ready. He emphasized that consumption of millets is the solution to malnutrition, which will also benefit farmers to get better livelihood and increased income.
This International Chefs Conference 2023 addressed a refreshed and renewed Hospitality sector on the way forward on ‘Co-creating Inclusive Local Organic Food Systems. The three-day ‘Chefs Exclusive’ event will feature varied and extensive Knowledge Sharing sessions, Workshops, Masterclasses, live cooking demonstrations and exhaustive Seminars that will herald a New Future for the Hospitality Sector, as we all come to terms with a new World.
The key speakers at this 3-day event include:
- Chef Thomas Guglerm President – WorldChefs
- Mr Vir Sanghvi, Journalist & Editor
- Mr Krish Ashok, Author of Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking
- Mr T.C. Chatterjee, CEO at Griffith foods
- Mr Kamesh Ellajosyula, Chief Innovation & Quality Officer, Olam Food Ingredients
- Ms. Ishi Khosla, Columnist, author, entrepreneur, researcher and practicing clinical nutritionist
- Dr Kurush F Dalal, Director, INSTUCENSchool of Archaeology & INSTUCEN Trust
- Ms Priya Joshi, Founder of Foodwize
- Mr Shridhar Venkat, Chief Executive Officer – The Akshaya Patra Foundation
10. Mr Vikram Cotah, Chief Executive Officer of GRT Hotels and Resorts
11. Mr Jaspal Sabharwal, Co-Founder Tag Taste Foods
12. Chef Rakesh Sethi, Corporate Executive Chef, Radisson Hotels Group, South Asia
13. Mr Paul Newnham, Strategic innovator and executive leader working on SDGs – Good food for all by 2030
14. Dr. Bharat K. Pappala, Doctor of Naturopath, Yoga & Ayurveda
15. Chef Rajeev Janveja, Senior Vice President & Corporate Chef at Lemontree Hotels
16. Mr. Hakeui Kosato, Founder of Sushi and more
17. Dr Eram S. Rao, Professor of Food Technology
18. Dr Pulkit Mathur, Professor and Head, Department of Food and Nutrition and Food Technology
19. Mr Jeetu Jodhpurkar, Executive Leadership
20. Dr Bani Tamber Aeri, Professor, Department of Food and Nutrition: Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi
21. Mr Ashish Bhasin, Director, F&B Service and culinary
22. Chef Amey Marathe, Vice President of Telangana Chefs Association
23. Ms Manisha Dahad, Co-Founder & Master Sorcerer @ Impossible Transformations LLP
24. Chef Satinder S Shergill, Corporate Chef at Ecogreen Hospitality
25. Chef Raj Sethia, Director (Projects) at Gift Your Organ Foundation
26. Dr Saurabh Sharma, Chef, Author, Culinary Mentor, Humanitarian
27. Krishna Iyer, Master Sorcerer @ Impossible Transformations LLP
28. Chef Satbir Bakshi, Corporate Chef de Cuisine, The Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
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