Koraput girl showcases 100 varieties of millets at international convention

BHUBANESWAR: A stall set up by a 13-year-old girl from Koraput district, showcased 100 varieties of millets at the International Convention on Millets organised here recently, which drew the attention of delegates, participants and visitors.
Harasita Priyadarshani Mohanty, a Class VII student from a private school in Jeypore, collected ragi, sorghum, pearl millet, foxtail millet and little millet, among others, from tribal farmers.
“I was inspired from Padma Shri awardees Kamala Pujari and Sabaramatee, who are working on conservation of indigenous seeds and promotion of organic farming, respectively. I have been collecting the seed varieties of millets for the past eight months. Surendra Masti, farmers and my father, a plantation officer, also helped me in my work,” she added. She has attended a global symposium in New Delhi with her seeds. She wants to collect more such varieties and become an agriculture scientist to work on millets. “I have collected 80 landraces (traditional varieties) of finger millet and 20 of other millets from places like Boipariguda, Kundra, Kotpad, Lamataput, Koraput and Nabarangpur. I have also collected 150 landraces of rice from farmers. I have been trying to find out about the millet varieties,” she said.
Similarly, Nek Ram Sharma from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, a Padma Shri awardee, showcased several varieties of millets at the event. He is known for intercropping system and millet cultivation. He has also inspired his fellow farmers in his panchayat and nearby localities to grow millets.
“Initially, I was busy saving ‘jal’ (water), ‘zamin’ (land) and ‘jangal’ (forests) in our area. Later I found that people are not cultivating traditional millets on their farmland. I started growing millets on my land. Though people laughed at me in the beginning, they paid heed to my advice and followed me. Now many are growing millets on their land,” he added.
Sharma said the Himachal Pradesh government has also taken steps to promote cultivation and consumption of millets. “We are cultivating nine types of millets. If we consume millets daily, we will not fall sick very often. My love for millets will not end,” he added.