Why in news? The closing ceremony of the four-day long Uttarakhand Shree Anna (Millets) Festival took place in Dehradun under the chief hospitality of the Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar.

Highlights:

• The Uttarakhand state government is working to encourage the cultivation of millet in the hilly regions of the state through government schemes to encourage farmers and provide employment.
• Coarse grains like Mandwa, Jhingora, Chaulai are being procured from the farmers of the hilly districts of the state at minimum support price, along with this, online payment is also being made to the farmers. This is not only increasing the income of farmers but also encouraging farmers to produce millet products.
• An amount of about Rs 73 crore has been given to the State Millet Mission by the government to encourage millet crops and include them in the food of common people.

Background :

• In order to increase the income of small farmers, to keep people healthy and to give a respectable place to food grains in the country and the world, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi proposed it on the global stage through the United Nations, which was supported by 72 countries and the UN declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

Benefits of Shree Anna:

• Shree Anna is the means to stay healthy. It is full of nutrition, curb lifestyle diseases.
• It costs less to the farmers to grow, it does not require fertilizer, it can be cultivated easily even in low rainfall.
• Agri-startups will increase with Shree Anna, employment opportunities will increase, production and productivity will increase, as well as processing and exports will also increase, which will boost the country’s economy. Thus, Shree Anna has many dimensions.
• solve issues of food security and help in climate change resilience.