WFP, Niti Aayog to Launch Initiative on Mainstreaming Millets in Africa & Asia

Today i.e. July 19, 2022, NITI Aayog and World Food Programme (WFP) will hold a hybrid event to launch the 'Mapping and Exchange of Good Practices' initiative for mainstreaming millets in Asia & Africa. NITI Aayog and WFP will compile a list of best practices for increasing millet production and consumption in India and around the world.

In the presence of NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery, Member Prof. Ramesh Chand and Adviser Dr. Neelam Patel, WFP Representative and Country Director India Bishow Parajuli, National Rainfed Area Authority CEO Dr. Ashok Dalwai, and Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Shubha Thakur, the event will be inaugurated.

Representatives from the ICAR, Central and state government departments, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, industry, Central and state agriculture universities, FPOs, NGOs, start-ups, academic and research institutions, and international organizations such as the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), and others will also attend.

About World Food Programme

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations' food-assistance arm. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting hunger and ensuring food security, as well as the largest provider of school meals.

It was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Rome, with offices in 80 countries. It served 115.5 million people in over 80 countries as of 2020, the most since 2012.

WFP provides technical assistance and development aid in addition to emergency food relief, such as capacity building for emergency preparedness and response, managing supply chains and logistics, promoting social safety programmes, and strengthening resilience against climate change.

The organization also provides direct cash assistance and medical supplies, as well as passenger services for humanitarian workers. In 2020, the World Food Programme received the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to provide food assistance in conflict zones and to prevent the use of food as a weapon of war and conflict.