Value Chain of Millets in Kandhamal District
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OUAT,Bhubaneswar
Abstract
The study was under taken on the topic entitled “value chain of millets in Kandhamal
District”. Millets are the storehouse of many micro nutrients. These are dietary staple
foods and the main source of protein in most of the tribal households. Millets are very
much suited to drought conditions and have great natural biodiversity. They are
extremely good source of fibre and protein when compared with white rice. They are
rich in iron, copper, manganese, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and B vitamins.
In this context, the study has been conducted with following objectives: (1) To assess
the livelihood profile of the millet farmers and (2) To study the marketing channel of
millet growers and traders. Eight villages from eight Blocks (one village from each
block) namely Kotagada, Tumudibandha, Balliguda, Phulbani, Khajuripada,
Chakapad, and Daringibadi of Kandhamal district were selected as the study areas.
Personal interview method was carried out for data collection. Out of total
respondents, 52% were between 40-50 years of age group and 5% were below 30
years of age. It was revealed that 52.5% farmers were from ST category, 35% were
from SC category, and rest 12.5% were from OBC category. The major sources of
income was from crops (68%) followed by 12% from animal husbandry, 11% from
wages/salary and the lowest income sources were from non-farm sources. Some
farmers were only doing farming because that was their family occupation and
traditionally they were involved in it. Their production was low and also their income
was very less. The market linkages were very poor. When the Farmers sold their
product, the market value decreased and they had to sell their product at low rate just
after harvesting which made little / no profit. The processing units were not available
exclusively for millets in the study villages. The farmers and retailors preferred to
sold their product in open market because there was no existence of government
market. There were changes seen in present food habits of the consumers in which the
demand of millets changed in to demand of cereals. Millet based farming system
approach had a significant role to play in addressing two of the world’s biggest and
most urgent issues: climate change and nutritional security in tribal pockets. The
farmer’s socio economic condition was good but it can be further improved if they
properly manage their resources and acquire more knowledge about farming and farm
based techniques.
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Th 5321
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