New Delhi: Tuesday, February 25, 2014 – Their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and Mrs Sharon Johnston will visit the Revalorizing Small Millets in South Asia project at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India, on February 26, 2014. The project is supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD).
The small millets project is being implemented jointly by the Development of Humane Action (DHAN) Foundation, India Arthacharya Foundation, Sri Lanka, and Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development, Nepal, in collaboration with the Canadian Mennonite University. The Canadian International Food Security Fund, managed by IDRC and DFATD, has contributed CA$3,548,105 (approx. 20 crores INR) to the project, launched in March 2011 and scheduled to end in September 2014.
In South Asia, small millets have consistently been neglected in agricultural research and policy despite their nutritional properties, high storability, and tolerance for adverse growing conditions. The project involves 10 partners across 8 agro-ecological sites in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The focus on small millets includes research on participatory varietal selection, development of post-harvest technology for millets de-hulling (to reduce labour-intensive menial work, particularly for women), testing millet-based products for their nutritional composition, the development of value chains, and the promotion of millets in public programs for food and nutrition security.
M. Karthikeyan, Program Leader, DHAN Foundation and Co-Principal Investigator of the project, will provide an overview of the small millet project and equipment to their Excellencies. “Small millets, which are rich in micronutrients, dietary fibre, and protein and known as a diabetes diet food, are fast disappearing from farms and food baskets,” says Karthikeyan. “Canada’s support to small millets, which are not getting as much public support for research on production and promotion as other food crops, is critical to putting this crop back on the map.”
The equipment procured under the project will be demonstrated to highlight its importance in producing and promoting small millets. The equipment includes an Atomic Absorption Spectro-photometer, used for screening micro-nutrients in small millet varieties preferred by farmers; a mechanical harvester (rice harvester adapted under this project), intended for farmers holding 5 acres or more, given the high cost of labour for harvesting millet; and a millet de-huller, developed with the help of researchers at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India, and McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Their Excellencies will be received by Vice Chancellor K. Narayana Gowda of the University of Agricultural Sciences. The tour will start with an overview of the university and its role in agricultural research in Southern India. Jean Lebel, President of IDRC and part of the Governor General of Canada’s delegation, will lead the visit to the small millet project along with Karthikeyan.
About IDRC
About Canada’s International Development Research Centre
A key part of Canada’s aid program, IDRC supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. The result is innovative, lasting solutions that aim to improve lives and livelihoods. www.idrc.ca
About CIFSRF
The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) is a program of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD). More information is available at www.idrc.ca/cifsrf.
For more details contact:
Dr Sara Ahmed, Senior Program Specialist
International Development Research Centre
Asia Regional Office
208 Jor Bagh, New Delhi 110 003, India
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +91 98102 86262
Ms Prabha Sethuraman, Communications Officer
International Development Research Centre
Asia Regional Office
208 Jor Bagh, New Delhi 110 003, India
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +91 9873455466
