‘Shrianna’ Food Festival to attract the foodies
The year 2023 is being celebrated as the International Millet Year and the country is also celebrating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. On this occasion, Millet Action Group of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), National Institute of Women Child and Youth Development Nagpur and Directorate of Cotton Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India has organized two-dayconference on ‘Shrianna’ (Millets) on 15th and 16th February 2023.
This convention is supported by of Bharat Tech Foundation and Think India VNIT Chapter. The session will be inaugurated on Wednesday, February 15 at 11 am at the hands of District Collector Dr.Vipin Itankar and VNIT Director Dr. Pramod Padole, Chief Executive Officer of National Institute of Women Child and Youth Development NagpurRajesh Malviya, along with Director of Cotton Development Directorate Nagpur Division Dr. A. L. Waghmare will be prominently present for inaugural ceremony. Various sessions on quality improvement of products, processing equipment, farmer group discussions, presentations etc. have been organized throughout the two-days convention.
On February 16, at 9.30 am, a session will be held on the topic of ‘Shrianna – a promising animal feed’ and an action plan will be prepared for the spread and promotion of Shrianna. The two-day seminar will be concluded at 1 pm by the keynote address by Hon. Dr. Mithali Sethi (B.P.S.), Director, Vasantrao Naik State Agriculture Extension Management Training Institute (Vanamati) Nagpur.
Representatives from the states of West Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh representing 10,000 small farmers who mainly produce millets will participate in this convention. Also, ‘Baiga’ tribal women, men and representatives of Tejashvani Nari Chetna MahilaSangh, Kodo Kutki Prakriya Kendra, who are conserving Srianna in tribal areas, will present their experiences. In the convention, the future strategy for the promotion, propagation, conservation and marketing of millet and getting the right value for the farmers will be discussed and important decisions will be taken regarding planning for the next 10 years.
‘Srianna Food Festival’ is a special attraction
On Wednesday 15th February at 5 PM, a special ‘SriAnn Food Festival’ has been organized at the VNIT auditorium, in which five types of millet seeds, various types of millet dishes such as Shev, Chakali, Kothimbir vadi, Sabudana Vada, Dosa, Sambar Vada, Samosa, Stalls of kachoris, bakery products, milkshakes etc. will serve delicious food prepared from millets. Along with that, some Millet based products from VNIT’s startup ‘Create’ will be available for sale. Member of Millet Action Group of VNIT Prof. Anupama Kumar, Prof. Ratnesh Kumar and Prof. Sachin Mandavagane have appealed to visit the millet food festival for best taste experiences.
