Millet Farming and Tribal Livelihood

Abstract

Millet is one of the oldest cultivated crops which provide food for human and animal consumption, along with its nutritional and health benefits. It is also a pro-environment crop which can grow and sustain with extreme environmental conditions; it has low water requirements and less requirements of soil fertility, nutrients, and moisture. Hence, to increase production, boost consumption, improve processing mechanisms, and improve marketing chain of millet Government of Odisha has introduced a flagship programme called Odisha Millet Mission, to revive and promote millet farming. With these backdrops, this chapter intended to examine the role of Odisha Millet Mission to improve tribal livelihood. This study found that the OMM has remarkable contribution for reviving and encouraging the production, consumption and processing of millet. This is also helpful for improving the employment and livelihood among the tribal in the Koraput district. But the government also needs to endure the tribal people reading the benefits of such potential programmes to further enhance the livelihood opportunities.