Major objectives of the ‘International Year of Millets’, is to create awareness and increase the production and consumption of millets.
Coimbatore: The importance of growing millets and including them in the daily diet was highlighted during the ICAR – Sugarcane Breeding Institute (ICAR-SBI), organized ‘Tribal nutrition awareness campaign’ among the school children and tribal women in Talamalai and Ramaranai villages in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve recently.
The ‘Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribe Component (STC)’ project is being implemented by the Institute, in collaboration with Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR).
Highlighting the importance of World Forestry Day , being celebrated every year on 21 March, Dr. G. Hemaprabha, Director, ICAR – Sugarcane Breeding Institute, in her address to school children of Government Tribal Residential School, Talamalai, said that “tribal children should aspire to become civil servants, scientists and policy makers and help in conservation and protection of forests to maintain ecological balance”.
While listing out the impact of institutions such as Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Sugarcane Breeding Institute on the livelihood of Indians, she said that education alone would pave the way for the economic development and prosperity of the tribals.
Earlier, Dr. D.Puthira Prathap, Principal Scientist and Nodal Officer of STC during his interaction with the children mentioned that the major objectives of the ‘International Year of Millets’, is to create awareness and increase the production and consumption of millets.
Listing out the noteworthy efforts taken up by the tribals across the country in reviving millets he elaborated on how the tribal children could also play a role in achieving those objectives.
Lamenting about the dropout rate of children in tribal schools of Tamil Nadu, he said that “there is a need to significantly improve the literacy percentage of the tribals in Tamil Nadu which stands now at 54 %, much lower that of the state average of 80 %”.
Following this, the Director of ICAR-SBI gave away stationery, solar-powered torchlights, millet biscuits and blankets to the students.
S.Poongothai, Headmistress of the school , who proposed the Vote of Thanks, said that “As many as 35 items including household items such as radio sets and liquid jaggery and farm tools were being distributed to all the tribal households in the settlement. Finger millet seeds, foxtail millet seeds, little millet seeds and nine types of vegetable seeds were also being distributed”, she added. She urged the tribals to cultivate the millets and vegetables, and include them in their own diet.
Dr.K.Mohanraj, Dr. P. Geetha and Dr.V. Sreenivasa, Scientists from ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Dr. D.Balachandar from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and officials from Tamil Nadu forest department spoke during the event.
The ‘Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribe Component (STC)’ project is being implemented by the Institute, in collaboration with Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR).
Highlighting the importance of World Forestry Day , being celebrated every year on 21 March, Dr. G. Hemaprabha, Director, ICAR – Sugarcane Breeding Institute, in her address to school children of Government Tribal Residential School, Talamalai, said that “tribal children should aspire to become civil servants, scientists and policy makers and help in conservation and protection of forests to maintain ecological balance”.
While listing out the impact of institutions such as Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Sugarcane Breeding Institute on the livelihood of Indians, she said that education alone would pave the way for the economic development and prosperity of the tribals.
Earlier, Dr. D.Puthira Prathap, Principal Scientist and Nodal Officer of STC during his interaction with the children mentioned that the major objectives of the ‘International Year of Millets’, is to create awareness and increase the production and consumption of millets.
Listing out the noteworthy efforts taken up by the tribals across the country in reviving millets he elaborated on how the tribal children could also play a role in achieving those objectives.
Lamenting about the dropout rate of children in tribal schools of Tamil Nadu, he said that “there is a need to significantly improve the literacy percentage of the tribals in Tamil Nadu which stands now at 54 %, much lower that of the state average of 80 %”.
Following this, the Director of ICAR-SBI gave away stationery, solar-powered torchlights, millet biscuits and blankets to the students.
S.Poongothai, Headmistress of the school , who proposed the Vote of Thanks, said that “As many as 35 items including household items such as radio sets and liquid jaggery and farm tools were being distributed to all the tribal households in the settlement. Finger millet seeds, foxtail millet seeds, little millet seeds and nine types of vegetable seeds were also being distributed”, she added. She urged the tribals to cultivate the millets and vegetables, and include them in their own diet.
Dr.K.Mohanraj, Dr. P. Geetha and Dr.V. Sreenivasa, Scientists from ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Dr. D.Balachandar from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and officials from Tamil Nadu forest department spoke during the event.