Millet Village Attappady: Kerala Govt to protect traditional varieties of cereals

Kerala government is formulating a special scheme to promote the cultivation of cereals such as millet, ragi, bajra and maize by setting up a millet village at Attappady. The project aimed at protecting seeds of traditional varieties of millets and ensures food security and livelihood for tribals.

The formal inauguration of the millet village will be held at Attappady on October 3, said Agricultural Minister V.S Sunilkumar. The State government has earmarked 2.40 crore for the first phase of this ‘Millet Village’project, where the 2 crores will be expended by Agricultural Department and 40 lakhs will be given by State Tribal Affairs Department.

In the first phase, the project will be implemented in 32 selected tribal settlements. The government has aimed to cultivate ragi in 200 hectares, small cereals in 100 hectare, horse gram and beans in 10 hectares each during the first phase. The minister said that later the project would be expanded to the tribal areas of Idukki and Wayanad districts.