Arunachal: Finger millet Field Day held at Bletteng village
Senior Scientist & Millets Breeder Dr DC Joshi highlighted the role of early maturing and high yielding finger millet...........
BLETTENG- Finger millet Field Day, Millet Thresher demonstration & Farmer-Scientist Interaction was organized at Bletteng village under Dutongkhar circle of Lumla sub division by Almora (Uttarakhand)-based ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan, in collaboration with KVK, Tawang, under NEH Programme of Indian Council of Agricultura Research (ICAR).
During the interaction with the farmers, Dr RK Khulbe, Principal Scientist, ICAR-VPKAS gave an overview of the initiatives undertaken by ICAR-VPKAS for promotion of millets in the district that include introduction of improved technologies ( VL Mandua 376 and VL Millet Thresher ) and farmer participatory quality seed production.
He appreciated the farmers for conducting good frontline demonstrations and sharing the seed of VL Mandua 376 produced last year with farmers of the adjoining villages as a result of which the seed of VL Mandua 376 has been able to reach farmers of a much larger number of villages during 2024.
Senior Scientist & Millets Breeder Dr DC Joshi highlighted the role of early maturing and high yielding finger millet varieties in enhancing finger millet production in the country with special reference to VL Mandua 376 in district Tawang.
Dr Joshi highlighted the advantages value addition and explained various ways of value addition to finger millet for earning more benefit from the crop. He urged the farmers to maximize horizontal dissemination of VL Mandua 376 seed through extensive seed sharing among farmers within and across villages in the district.
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The team of scientists inspected the farmer participatory seed production fields of VL Mandua 376 and explained to the farmers the precautions required for producing quality seed.
Thanking the farmers for their engagement in farmer participatory seed production programme of the institute, Dr Khulbe informed that in the last two years, the institute procured 600 kg quality seed of VL Mandua 376 from village Bleting, which was distributed among the farmers of other villages of the district to enable them harvest the benefit of its high yield and early maturity.
The institute plans to procure 10-15 quintal quality seed from Bleting and other villages during 2024 for further dissemination of the variety in district Tawang and other adjoining districts.
Dr Kushagra Joshi, Senior Scientist (Family Resource Management) apprised farmers of the drudgery involved in the threshing of Finger Millet and other post-harvest activities including winnowing and cleaning.
Awareness about associated health hazards in post-harvest activities, as well as potential measures to mitigate drudgery and hazards, was raised, including engineering intervention, administrative controls, that is, ensuring safety while using the thresher and use of personal protective equipment by farmers.
Er. Shyam Nath conducted a method demonstration on the Vivek Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler and explained how its adoption can save time and cost and reduce the drudgery involved in post-harvest processing, besides minimizing losses and improving quality of the produce. During the interface meeting, beneficiary farmers provided feedback on their experiences with the use of Vivek Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler and its effectiveness in reducing drudgery.
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Dr CK Singh, SMS Agronomy, KVK Tawang, who has been instrumental in dissemination of VL Mandua 376 in the district, informed that due to its shorter duration the variety has gained popularity as ‘teen mahine ka mandua’ among the farmers.
During kharif 2024 the variety was grown in more than 30 villages in the district, and the variety is expected to reach most of the finger millet growing villages in the district over the next 2-3 years through institute provided seed and farmer-to-farmer seed exchange.
He particularly highlighted the growing demand for VL Millet Threshers, and emphasized on the need for ensuring their adequate availability to the farmers for easing finger millet threshing and upscaling finger millet cultivation in the district.
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The programme was attended by 44 farmers including 34 women. Farmers informed that VL Mandua 376 yields about 1.5 times more grain than the local cultivar and matures almost a month earlier, and its grain to husk ratio is also higher compared to the local cultivar.
Farmers appreciated the introduction of millet threshers in their village and expressed their happiness with the time savings and ease of threshing finger millet using the thresher.
The institute has already provided 22 VL Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler to farmers in different villages in Tawang (Namtsering, Lhou, Bleting, Kharteng, Khleteng, Kitpi, Gipsu, Sakti, Namet, Shernup, Buri and Lumtsang).
However, according to the farmers, the higher produce being obtained from VL Mandua 376 has made requirement of millet threshers more necessary than before, and urged to provide more millet threshers in the villages.
