5th April, Tura: North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society together with its partner communities from Garo Hills, celebrated Aman A•song (Mother Earth) Millet Festival cum Agroecology Learning Circle (ALC) sharing on April 5, 2023, at Hotel Polo Orchid, Tura. Civil Sub-Divisional Officer, Rongram Block, Shri Abhishek Gowda graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Various representatives and officials from different government departments- College of Community Science, Meghalaya Basin Development Agency, Mission Organic Value Chain Development for Northeast Region (MOVCDNER), ATMA, custodian farmers from partner villages, Nokmas from non-project villages, and many other community members attended the program.
The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millet. However, NESFAS has long been proactive in promoting Millet production and revival, besides other food crops. 23 partner communities from Garo Hills who are part NESFAS project “Empowering Indigenous Communities through Agroecology Learning Circles (ALCs) for resilient, integrated and innovative natural resource management”, which is supported by MBMA and funded by the World Bank” have undertaken experiments on soil, pest and production management, with the use of traditional knowledge and practices. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest, Shri Abhishek Gowda said, “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 I would like to encourage you all to continue doing so.”
Miss Rimchi N Marak, Senior Associate of Garo Hills and Nutrition, also spoke on the importance of reviving millet which has diminished greatly over the years and shared some of the success stories achieved by NESFAS over the years.
As part of the ALC project, communities have conducted a year-long experiment on pests, soil and production management and have reaped the fruits of their labour. Awards were also presented to three of the best Community Facilitators (CF), 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 by various partner communities, wherein they displayed different food products, and beverages made from locally available fruits, wild edibles, millet varieties, local seeds, handicrafts etc.
