Nepal Observes National Millet Day-2025 with a Call to Promote Healthy Living

Strategic Insights -

On Friday, Nepal celebrated its first National Millet Day-2025, with a focus on promoting the importance of millet and increasing its production. The government marked the occasion with the slogan 'Diet of Millet Dishes: Base of Food Security and Healthy Life', highlighting the nutritious and medicinal properties of millet. Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ramnath Adhikari attended the program, urging people to incorporate millet dishes into their daily diets for a healthier lifestyle. Stakeholders, including representatives from the National Farmers Group Federation, participated in the event, emphasizing the need to promote millet production and diversification of millet dishes for future generations.

Key Takeaways:

  • The government of Nepal observed the first National Millet Day-2025, with the slogan 'Diet of Millet Dishes: Base of Food Security and Healthy Life', to promote the importance of millet and increase its production.
  • Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ramnath Adhikari urged people to eat millet dishes once a day to stay healthy, citing its nutritious and medicinal properties.
  • Secretaries from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Dr. Govinda Prasad Sharma and Dr. Deepak Kumar Kharal, stated that there is no market problem for millet and millet-based crops, and efforts should be made to increase production.
  • The Department of Agriculture considers millet an important crop after maize in the hilly areas, as it can be cultivated with less irrigation and fertiliser.
  • President of the National Farmers' Group Federation, Panchakaji Shrestha, emphasized the need for quality seeds to increase millet production and productivity.
  • Ken Shimizu, FAO Country Representative for Nepal and Bhutan, highlighted the FAO's efforts to promote climate-friendly millet crops.
  • Nepal produced around 300,732 tonnes of millet in 224,935 hectares of land last year, with a productivity of only 1.33 tonnes per hectare.
  • Due to increased demand, imports of millet products worth Rs. 766 million were recorded by the Department of Customs.

Statistics:

  • Around 300,732 tonnes of millet was produced in 224,935 hectares of land last year.
  • The productivity of millet was only 1.33 tonnes per hectare.
  • The Department of Customs recorded imports of around 15,300 tonnes of millet products worth Rs. 766 million.

Sources:

  • Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Nepal
  • Department of Agriculture, Nepal
  • FAO Country Representative for Nepal and Bhutan
  • The Department of Customs, Nepal
  • Our Myagdi Correspondent