ICAR-IIMR Sets up Millet-Processing Unit for Farmers, FPOs

The ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad is helping in the promotion of millets through Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and doubling farmers' income taking into consideration the International Year of Millets- 2023.

Dr. C. V. Ratnavathi, Director, ICAR-IIMR inaugurated the unit in presence of Dr. Vilas A Tonapi, Former Director, ICAR-IIMR & President Rotary Club Krishi Rajendranagar, Raghu General Manager of Nabhitha Engineering Private Ltd. and other members of Rotary club. IIMR is acting as a Cluster Based Business Organization (CBBO) for the promotion as well as handholding of 33 Millets Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in 4 states i.e., Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana to implement its “Millets FPO Model”.

To provide a processing facility to millet growers and FPOs, the institute has established a millet-processing unit on the eve of Independence Day and Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. It also signed an MOU with Nabhitha Engineering Private Ltd. & Rotary Club, Krishi Rajendranagar for setting up the primary processing unit at the premises of ICAR-IIMR.

The Indian Institute of Millets Research celebrated “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” by installing a primary processing unit of millets for helping shareholders of FPO.

Dr. Sangappa and Dr. Srinivas Babu of the FPO Unit, ICAR-IIMR took the initiative of Public Private Partnership (PPP) for setting up this millets unit to remove the bottlenecks faced by millet growers during processing.

This unit will help Farmer Producer Organizations and farmers to process their millets at a reasonable cost at IIMR. It will also encourage fellow farmers to grow millets by means of which the area under crop will increase.

The ICAR-IIMR primary processing unit offers better marketing linkages to millet growers through their enriched grains by which they will get fair prices for their produce. It will also provide hands-on training to FPOs and farmers on the value addition of millets.