Odisha Millet Roadmap Targets 5 Lakh Hectares by 2047

A two-day national event on agro-biodiversity conservation, climate-resilient farming and sustainable food systems opened at Bhubaneswar in Odisha on 10 November 2026. Odisha Governor Braj Mohan Ram, the state’s Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Dr Mangi Lal Jat, Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson of the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, were present. Sachin Ramachandra Jadhav, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the state agriculture department, joined them, along with scientists and policymakers.

The millet target

Dr Jat proposed that the area under millets in Odisha be raised from 1.79 lakh hectares to 5 lakh hectares by 2047, with production reaching 8 lakh metric tonnes. He described the state’s Shree Anna Abhiyan as a possible national model for millet-led change in farming, and argued that opportunity crops such as millets answer several problems at once: a warming climate, tired soils and poor nutrition.

Ragi and the state’s seed wealth

The meeting praised Odisha’s record in ragi procurement and its care for native seed. The state has documented 163 landraces of finger millet, and traditional varieties such as Kalia, Bati, Mami and Bharathi were singled out for conservation.

What was proposed next

• Scientific cultivation practices to be scaled up across millet districts.
• Minor millets such as suan and kangu to be promoted.
• Affordable processing machinery to be developed for small growers.
• Farmer Producer Organisations and women’s self-help groups to be strengthened, with market links through the Indian Institute of Millets Research at Hyderabad.

Dr Jat also proposed closer research ties with the Hyderabad institute and the setting up of a Centre of Excellence on Millets at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology. The inaugural session was followed by a tour of exhibition stalls showing farm innovations, native crop diversity and millet-based products, with farmers taking part in the discussion. The organisers said the event was meant to build institutional partnerships and speed up Odisha’s move towards climate-resilient and profitable millet farming.