Millet Mission at 50th SKOCH summit

The Millet Mission Odisha (Special Programme for Promotion of Millets in Tribal Areas) has won the SKOCH Order-of-Merit, which will be conferred during the 50th SKOCH summit being held at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, during 20-21 December 2017. This was based on Jury evaluation from a presentation (also see SlideShare and video from 24 minutes onwards).  The Mission is also in the race for SKOCH Award 2017, which is also dependent on the delegate votes. Hence, this is a request to delegates at the summit on why you should at least visit our booth (#24) and be a part of the millet mission.

• The programme is based on an Institutional Architecture that brought together three pillars of progress - Government, Civil Society and Academia for a people-centric initiative to facilitate nutrition security and climate resilience.
• It will be an important partner in the Government of India's call to UN to make 2018 as the International Year of Millets and in the initiative on National Nutrition Mission. 
• To address the demand versus supply mismatch (or Chicken-Egg paradox), a framework with concurrent emphasis on  production, consumption, processing, and marketing has been designed.
• It brought together science and tradition. The knowledge of improved agronomic practices and use of suitable equipment was superimposed on the understanding of local biodiversity and existing agricultural practices to facilitate climate resilient agriculture that is sustainable.
• Initiatives are being taken for pilot inclusion of millets in State Nutrition Programmes (SNPs)  and the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• There is scope to scale these initiatives both within and outside the state and also to converge it with other agricultural schemes.
• Its urban internship is meant to spread knowledge on the health benefits, create awareness on contemporary as also traditional recipes, and provide a market for the produce.

The Millet Mission initiative also resonates in spirit with most of the Jai Hind Keynote lectures of the 50th SKOCH summit. To wit:

• Millet Mission will facilitate 'Naya Grameen Bharat' being envisaged by Narendra Singh Tomar, Honourable Union Minister of Panchayati Raj, Rural Development and Mines.
• It will transform tribal areas, similar to the story of 'Transforming Madhya Pradesh' by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
• It does combine science and technology to facilitate new agronomic practices and in that sense is also about 'Transformational Technological Changes for India 2030' by YS Chowdary, Honourable Minister of State for Science and Technology.
• It is about climate-resilient sustainable agriculture along with a new institutional architecture to facilitate governance and hence does echo 'Sustainable Development and Indian Economic Governance' by Ashok Chawla, Chairman, TERI.
• Being a pro-people agricultural intervention, it also echoes the sentiments of 'Agricultural Growth and Poverty Elimination' by Ashok Gulati, Infosys Chair Professor, ICRIER.
• Focusing on interventions that are knowledge-intensive, it is also about 'Enhancing Indian Investments' by Suresh Prabhu, Hounourable Union Minister for Commerce and Industry.
• With a focus on marginalised population, it will have some lessons from below for 'A Macro Economic View for India for 2030' by Indira Rajaraman, Economist.
• Bringing together a host of civil society groups and volunteers working pro bono, it does reflect 'Legitimising Lobying and Advocacy' by Dilip Cherian, Founding Partner and Group Chairman, Perfect Relationsc.
• In enhancing of livelihood for tribal farmers the mission will also contribute to 'The Road to a $10 Trillion Economy' by Bibek Debroy, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.
• Emphasis on capabilities of local population and small enterprises would be in sync with 'Job Generative Economic Agenda' by Bijayant Jay Panda, Honourable Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha.
• A programme that by design is inclusive does have an audience for 'Universal Basic Income' by Haseeb Drabu, Honourable Finance Minister, Jammu & Kashmir. 
• The proposed urban internship may draw on lessons from 'Urban Development India 2030' by M Ramachandran, Former Urban Swcretary and Distinguished Fellow, SKOCH Developmet Foundation.
• Protection of tribal livelihoods from unforeseen influences is akin to 'Protecting Virtual Borders' by Gulshan Rai, National Cyber Security Coordinator.
• Concern for people (or, economy) may get echoed in 'Monetary Policy and Fiscal Framework: The Route of India 2030' by Ashima Goyal, IGIDR and Part-time Member, Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister. 
• A people-centric policy initiative for the excluded cannot not be part of 'Political Economy: Requisites for New India' by Lord Meghnad Desai, Founder and Chairman, Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics.
• The need to engage with multiple stakeholders and an approach that acknowledges diversity in cropping patterns and agro-climatic conditions would in some tangential sense may benefit from the lessons from 'Multilateralism and India 2030' by Shaktikanta Das, G20, Sherpa, and Member, 15th Finance Commission.
• The plans to pay farmers through direct benefit transfer after validating practices through mobile apps would fit into 'A Digital Path to India 2030' by Pranjal Sharma, Member, Advisory Board, PACI, World Economic Forum.
• To go beyond urban and to bring in the excluded could be important concerns for 'FinTech Power India' by S Ganesh Kumar, Executive Director, RBI.
• Larger concern for the excluded, or as we say on scheduled crops for scheduled population may have important lessons for 'Fiscal Federalism and India 2030' by NK Singh, Chairman, 15th Finance Commission.

In summary, one may mention that the Millet Mission is a people-centric initiative involving Government, Civil Society and Academia for climate resilience and nutrition security. In doing so, it also gives us lessons on a host of other things that include inclusiveness, convergence, and governance among others. 

An earlier note on the Millet Mission that also discussed about challenges and the strategies to overcome these challenges is available here.