Tura, April 5: North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) together with its partner communities from Garo Hills celebrated the ‘Aman A•song Millet Festival’ on Wednesday at Hotel Polo Orchid, Tura.

Civil Sub-Divisional Officer, Rongram Block, Abhishek Gowda graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Various representatives and officials from different government departments, College of Community Science, Meghalaya Basin Development Agency, Mission Organic Value Chain Development for Northeast Region (MOVCDNER), ATMA, custodian farmers from partner villages, Nokmas from non-project villages, and many other community members attended the program.

The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millet. However, NESFAS has long been proactive in promoting Millet production and revival, besides other food crops. 23 partner communities have taken part in the Agroclecology Learning Circle (ALC) project, and have undertaken experiments on soil, pest and production management, with the use of traditional knowledge and practices.

Speaking on the occasion, Gowda said, “Millet is rich in nutrients such as iron, fibre, calcium which is good for health. There is a need to promote intergenerational transfer of knowledge about millets and its different varieties. I appreciate the efforts of the farmers and NESFAS in promoting and reviving this food crop and I would like to encourage you all to continue doing so.”

The programme concluded with the inauguration of stalls put by various partner communities, wherein they displayed different food products, wild edibles, millet varieties, seeds, handicrafts etc.

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