India
About the Implementing organization
Odisha Millets Mission
Country: India
Year of establishment: 2016
Type of organization: Public-private partnership
Website: http://www.milletsodisha.com
Description
Special programme for the promotion of millets in tribal areas (Odisha Millets Mission) is a flagship initiative of the State Government of Odisha covering 72 blocks in 14 districts. Odisha Millets Mission (OMM) focuses on the indigenous communities, women farmers, small and marginal farmers. OMM is implemented by community based organisations such as Women SHGs, farmer producer organisations, farmer groups, etc. Objectives of the programme are increasing local household level consumption, setting up decentralized processing units within block to reduce drudgery, improving productivity through agroecological practices, formation of farmer collectives for collective marketing and better price realization, inclusion of millets in government programmes (ICDS, MDM, social welfare hostels and public distribution system). OMM emerged from a series of multistakeholder consultations with civil society, academia, community and government. This is first programme where project was completely designed based on field-level farmer success stories and case studies. From day one, all four parties came together for development of the design, strategy and guidelines.
Architecture Unique feature of the OMM is its state secretariat with NCDS and WASSAN. A social science research institute (NCDS) was chosen as nodal research agency apart from the agriculture institute, emphasizing the role of society, culture and economics in the revival of a crop. In addition, collaboration is the mantra of OMM. OUAT, Cambridge University, NBPGR, IIT Delhi, ICSSR, Shiv Nader University, IIT Mumbai, IIMR etc. are collaborating with OMM. OMM won Silver prize in “Skoch Transformational Innovation Award” for its unique project design. Cambridge University is studying Odisha Millets Mission as one of the possible alternatives to the Green Revolution through TIG2RESS initiative.
Production OMM is a knowledge intensive landscape-based agro-ecological initiative with focus on fork-to-farm approach and increasing dietary diversity of communities. Farmer to farmer learning instead of supply of inputs is the core strategy. OMM is 1st agriculture project whose 1st priority is consumption. Choice of seed and crop is decided by the community. Knowledge support is provided by department, research institutes and NGOs. OMM promotes indigenous seeds and bio diversity. OMM aims to identify, document, conserve and multiply different indigenous landraces. Participatory varietal trials (PVTs) are done at block-level through RBD methodology. Seeds are selected through farmer preference analysis. Till FY 2018-19, PVTs have been done in 15 blocks with 163 landraces and 43 repetitions. 10 landraces/varieties have been identified in each block. A seed centre managed by community is established within block to multiply and supply locally appropriate quality seeds. A custom hiring center is also established so that appropriate farm tools such as cycle weeder, bullock drawn thresher, etc. are available at panchayat-level on hiring basis.
Processing and Marketing Absence of processing units is seen as one of the major reasons for declining household consumption and price realization. The project aims to set up decentralized processing units (graders, destoners, dehullers, threshers, etc) through entrepreneurs at block-level and gram panchayat-level. Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) are being formed at block-level to support aggregation, storage and collective marketing.
Consumption OMM has budgetary provision of Rs 300.13 Cr for procurement and inclusion of millets in ICDS, MDM and PDS. Project aims to reach 5 million directly within 3 years. This will generate bulk demand for farmers and ensure that millets are part of the local diet. Awareness campaigns, cooking events, food festivals are conducted at village, GP, block, district and state levels to create awareness and demand for millets.
Nature Element
Grasslands︱Drylands
Type of Action
Climate-resilient food and agriculture
Sustainable Development Element
Food security︱Health︱Sustainable consumption and production
Related Sustainable Development Goal(s)
Environmental Impacts
OMM encourages sustainable millet cultivation by providing an incentive to farmers up to Rs 9500 per hectare as an ecosystem service. No chemicals are promoted by OMM. Through technology transfer and demonstrations, finger millet yields have been increased from 8 hectares to 16 hectares. Highest recorded yield is 35 hectares. Through incentivisation, doubling of yield, drudgery reduction and procurement, millets are now opted above chemical and water intensive crops/plantations such as eucalyptus, cotton, hybrid maize, etc. OMM also promotes inter-cropping and promotes biodiversity on massive scale. Thus, taking care of all these aspects ensures a great adoption by the community, leading to a substantial environmental impact.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
As per ICAR-CRIDA, dry spells are going to increase in the state of Odisha over next 30 years. Given that nearly 60% of the gross cropped area is rainfed, following are the expected impacts of the climate change in Odisha as per OUAT:
1. Late monsoon onset and more pre-monsoon rainfall.
2. Reduced post-monsoon and winter rainfall.
3. Maximum increase in temperature in post-monsoon followed by summer.
4. Extended summer up to June.
5. More number of Intense wet spells.
Sufficient food production through sustainable methods will be greatest challenge (FAO 2009). Millets are perhaps one of the few alternatives which can be one of the solution to the above emerging crises. In this context, Odisha Millets Mission aims for a comprehensive revival of millets (or Nutri-Cereals) as they require less water, more tolerant to dry spells, intense wet spells, good yield potential and mitigates risk for the community.
Sustainable Development Impacts
OMM focuses on promotion of production of millets through organic methods to increase the yield. The project adopts an agroecological approach. Indigenous seeds are selected based on a farmer preference analysis through participatory varietal trials. Organic promotion of millets will not further degrade the soil. Local seeds ensure pest resilience and climate resilient as they have emerged from the agroecological situation. Project also sets up graders, destoners, threshers to reduce drudgery and improve quality of final product. Through environmentally sustainable production methods, improved quality of produce, farmers will get higher yields and a higher market price. OMM framework, hence, ensures that sustainable development of farmers is taken care of.
RESILIENCE, ADAPTABILITY, AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The entire project is implemented through local community-based organisations based in landscape based approach. Women collectives are preferred in the project as women are traditionally more attuned towards millet cultivation. The project partners with local NGOs and academia to provide knowledge support for better organic crop management practices for higher yield, reduced drudgery by mechanization, the promotion of rural entrepreneurship, the formation of farmer producers’ organisations for collective marketing for better price realization and massive urban awareness in cities to create demand. OMM partners with OSAM Board, E-NAM, private players, TDCCOL and public procurement for the marketing of millets. If a community does not envisage social mobility in the cultivation of crops, then it will slowly vanish from farms and plates. With “fork-to-farm” approach and community in the center of the implementation, the project aims to build enough local capacities and institutional systems for long term sustainability.The project aims to increase income security and nutritional security with risk mitigation. The project focuses on indigenous communities and economically poor households. By focusing on tribal areas, the program is trying to reduce disparity created through public policy. OMM provides them with production incentive, technology transfer for higher yields through organic methods, procurement at remunerative prices, nutritious millets in the government supported programme for better nutrition outcomes. The climate resilient nature of millet crops further reduces risk for tribal farmers. Further income opportunities are opened through the promotion of millet entrepreneurship with women based SHGs in processing and value addition. Higher price realization is made possible through collective marketing, setting up grading and packing units at local levels, long term storage, etc. With a focus on tribal and marginal farmers, OMM will reduce inequalities.
REDUCED INEQUALITIES
The project aims to increase income security and nutritional security with risk mitigation. The project focuses on indigenous communities and economically poor households. By focusing on tribal areas, the program is trying to reduce disparity created through public policy. OMM provides them with production incentive, technology transfer for higher yields through organic methods, procurement at remunerative prices, nutritious millets in the government supported programme for better nutrition outcomes. The climate resilient nature of millet crops further reduces risk for tribal farmers. Further income opportunities are opened through the promotion of millet entrepreneurship with women based SHGs in processing and value addition. Higher price realization is made possible through collective marketing, setting up grading and packing units at local levels, long term storage, etc. With a focus on tribal and marginal farmers, OMM will reduce inequalities.
GENDER EQUALITY
Women’s empowerment and drudgery reduction is the core of the OMM. Recognizing women farmers and reducing drudgery involved is very important objective of the program. Women farmers and SHGs are encouraged to take up collective farming, collective marketing and millet based entrepreneurship. The project recognizes women farmers and makes them eligible for incentives under OMM. OMM is partnering with Mission Shakti, a government agency promoting 0.6 million SHGs with 7.2 million women members to promote awareness on nutrition of millets among women and also entrepreneurship. OMM in collaboration with Mission Shakti opened a Millet café with women SHG members in Hockey World Cup 2018 which received substantial acclaim. OMM and Women SHGs of Mission Shakti will deliver millet based snacks to 0.39 million children under age of 6 yrs twice a week. In addition, OMM will support Mission Shakti SHGs to set up millet based outlets, catering business, value addition business, etc. Overall, OMM has a focus on women farmers and is systematically coordinating with various departments and NGOs to ensure that the benefits of the project reaches as many women as possible.
SOCIAL INCLUSION
Traditionally, there were no rainfed agriculture specific initiatives leading to the marginalization of farmers, especially tribal farmers. OMM is one of largest rainfed agriculture projects in Odisha. OMM is implemented in tribal areas and drought-prone areas with focus on indigenous farmers, women farmers, poor and marginal farmers. Incentives of the project are primarily designed to ensure that it reaches the poorest of farmers through direct benefit transfer. OMM is only one of the few government agriculture projects where farmers with lands under forest rights act and tenant farmers are also eligible for the project incentives. Millets are branded as poor man’s food. One of the core focus of OMM is to reduce the stigma around consumption of millets and restore dignity to the tribal community. Large scale village to village massive awareness campaigns are also carried out. OMM in 2016 and 2018 has initiated an urban internship programme to engage with youth to change this mindset. Millet stalls were opened in 26 locations in Bhubaneswar with college students, which was very successful. With focus on youngsters, OMM is also working with APICOL and Startup Odisha to promote startups and enterprises on millets. Project also promotes women SHG based entrepreneurship. Hence, the project takes a comprehensive social inclusion approach and systematically engages with indigenous farmers, women SHGs and youth in the different initiatives.
Scalability
As OMM was designed through numerous multistakeholder consultations, scalability was one of the factors kept in mind. All the protocols and processes were developed by keeping standard norms and protocols of government (State and Union) so it can be seamlessly scaled up. OMM was initiated in 30 blocks in FY 2017-18 with a budgetary allocation of Rs 64.54 Crore. OMM was then expanded to 65 blocks by end of FY 2018-19. The total budgetary allocation of the OMM now stands at Rs 512.89 Crore through the state plan. In FY 2018-19, OMM was further scaled up to another 7 blocks through a district mineral fund scheme with budgetary allocation of Rs 24.08 Crore. In total, within span of 23 months, OMM was scaled up by a factor of 2.4 in coverage and by factor of 7.83 in budgetary allocation. This shows the seamless scalability of the OMM.
Replicability
The Government of India (GoI) has studied the OMM model and has written to all state governments to adopt the structure, execution, monitoring models of OMM. It has asked all state governments to adopt OMM model not just for millets but also for pulses and oilseeds. Planning Commission of Chhattisgarh has officially recommended to its state government to initiate a millet mission on the lines of OMM. Based on the recommendation, Tribal Department of Chhattisgarh is planning to take up an initiative to promote millets. Government of Telangana has launched a millet mission similar to OMM. IFAD has proposed convergence with OMM and IFAD funded programmes. IFAD is also keen on replicating the activities of OMM in other IFAD funded projects wherever suitable. Recommendation of the government and acceptance of different state governments and UN agencies in a short span of 23 months is testament to the potential of replicability of OMM across the country.
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