Koraput: A 36-year-old tribal woman farmer from Odisha’s Bhumia community has received invitation to participate in the upcoming G20 summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. Raimati Ghiuria’s inclusion in the summit is linked to her role in an exhibition centred on millets, including millet start-ups, millet rangoli and live cooking. This event is being organised by the ministry of agriculture for the special visit of G20s first spouses to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) campus in New Delhi on September 9 to showcase the country’s significant strides in the fields of agri-tech and millet production, offering visitors a firsthand millet experience. Ms Ghiuria said,
I am very much delighted to attend the G20 summit. I have heard that leaders of at least 20 nations will participate in the meeting and I will showcase the kundra bati madia (finger millets) and the tribal method of cultivating it.
Also Read: Jammu And Kashmir Sets Up Special Food Stall “Millet Hub” For Foreign Delegates During G20 Summit
The woman emphasised the importance of better technology and scientific farming methods introduced by the Odisha Millet Mission (OMM), which has significantly improved the yield and quality of millet farming in the district. She said,
I will share my experience on the benefits of better technology and scientific farming methods introduced by the OMM since 2017 in our area.
Belonging to Nuaguda village under Kundra block in the district, Ms Ghiuria, for her active participation in revitalising traditional crops, including traditional rice and millet varieties, has now turned to be a role model for women in her community.
Her dedication towards agriculture has turned her into a resource person and so far she has imparted training to over 2,500 farmers on millet intensification, line transplanting, intercropping, and organic pest management.
Also Read: Implement Food Waste Prevention Programmes For Food Security: G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant
As a custodian farmer, Ms Ghiuria has preserved more than 72 traditional varieties of indigenous rice and more than 30 varieties of the millets. Her exceptional contributions to agriculture have earned numerous accolades, including the Genome Saviour Community Award in 2012, Jamshedji Tata National Virtual Academy Fellowship Award in 2015, Best Farmer Award by TATA Steel in 2015, 2017 and 2018 among others. Raimati added,
Currently, I am focussed on promoting millet value addition and processing activities, as well as providing drudgery reducing implements to women farmers.
Prasant Parida, a scientist at Swaminathan foundation, Jeypore said,
Ms Ghiuria’s inclusion in the G20 summit highlights the importance of sustainable agriculture and how lives of farmers and their communities change when traditional farming practices are combined with modern technology and scientific methods.
Along with Ms Ghiuria, 45 year-old tribal woman farmer Subasa Mohanta of Matiagarh village of Mayurbhanj district will also participate in the summit.
Also Read: Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar Calls To Give ‘A Respectable Place To Millets’
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
