TURA, April 5: The North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS), together with its partner communities from Garo Hills, celebrated Aman A•song (Mother Earth) Millet Festival-cum-Agroecology Learning Circle (ALC) on Wednesday, at Hotel Polo Orchid in Tura.
Civil Sub-Divisional Officer, Rongram Block, Abhishek Gowda, who was the chief guest, said that as millet is rich in nutrients such as iron, fibre and calcium, which is good for health, there is a need to promote the intergenerational transfer of knowledge about millets and their different varieties.
“I appreciate the efforts of the farmers and NESFAS in promoting and reviving this food crop and would like to encourage you all to continue doing so,” he added.
Senior Associate of Garo Hills and Nutrition, Rimchi N Marak, on the other hand, spoke about the importance of reviving millet, which, she said, has diminished greatly over the years.
Marak also shared some of the success stories achieved by NESFAS over the years.
During the programme, awards were also presented to three of the best Community Facilitators (CFs), and the best ALC group, which was bagged by Adingma ALC group from Misimagre community in West Garo Hills.
The programme concluded with the inauguration of stalls, put up by various partner communities, where they displayed different food products and beverages made from locally available fruits, wild edibles, millet varieties, local seeds, handicrafts etc.
Others who were part of the programme include various representatives and officials from different government departments and agencies such as the College of Community Science, Meghalaya Basin Development Agency, Mission Organic Value Chain Development for Northeast Region, custodian farmers from partner villages, Nokmas from non-project villages, et al.
