CM Jagan to inaugurate millets processing unit today

Vizianagaram: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will virtually inaugurate a millets processing plant at Rega village in L Kota mandal in Vizianagaram district from Tadepalli on Tuesday.

A farmers’ producers organisation (FPO) consisting of 1,500 farmers is going to operate the firm which is established at an estimated cost of Rs 4.06 crore and about 30 youth would get employment at the unit.

The Union government has extended support to the firm under Rashtreeya Krishi Vikas Yojana scheme as the UNO has announced year 2023 as the Millets Year.

Millets like Ragi, maize, pearl millets, foxtail millets, jowar and others would be processed and converted into flour and even women members would prepare pakodi, biscuits, vermicelli and flakes, nutritious powders and other eatables.

The products would be sold through ration depots and the members of this unit will procure the millets from Alluri Sitharama Raju and Parvathipuram Manyam districts. Collector S Nagalakshmi said that they would take care of the unit and support the members of the organisation by helping them to procure the raw grains from the nearby areas.

Even the State and Union governments are putting more efforts to improve the area of cultivation of millets as the UNO has appealed to the member nations to increase the production.

The Ragi cultivation area is targeted to reach 844 hectares in kharif and it would be increased to 4,000 hectares in rabi.

The government would help the entrepreneurs to establish such processing units and help them in many ways, she said. Joint collector Mayur Ashok has visited the plant and reviewed the arrangements there. He interacted with the members of the FPO and directed them to operate the unit successfully and improve their living standards with the income generated from the unit.