Around 800 school student participate in Millet Utopia programme at UoH

Hyderabad: University of Hyderabad (UoH) organised a day-long Miet Utopia programme in its campus here on Friday. More than 800 students from 34 schools took part in the programme. UoH will be celebrating the 'International Year of Millets – 2023' by organising several activities under the aegis of 'UoH-IYoM 2023'.

Prof Rajeev Varshney, International Chair and Director, WA State Agricultural Biotech Centre, Murdoch University, Australia, delivered an informative lecture on 'Translational Genomics for Food and Nutrition Security'. Later Dr Manoj Prasad, Senior Scientist and JC Bose National Fellow, DBT-NIPGR, New Delhi, spoke on 'Advances in foxtail millet research: Progress and prospects.' The demand for millets has seen an uptick, of late, as people, mostly elderly, have begun to consume more of these 'smart foods'. The school students through the above two talks were made aware of the benefits of consuming Millets.

The students of class 8 to 10 took part in competitions like quiz, elocution, para-writing, drawing, etc., focusing on the theme, 'Millets for food and nutrition'. Prizes were awarded at the valedictory session chaired by Prof B J Rao, Vice Chancellor, UoH.

Dr M Muthamilarasan, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, who coordinated the Millet Utopia programme said, "The event held at the university was to create awareness among the participants about the millets and aiming to include them as part of their regular nutritious meals."