Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organises closing ceremony of the International Year of Millets | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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    Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organises closing ceremony of the International Year of Millets

    Posted 01 Apr 2024

    2 min read

    • The event highlighted the importance of millets in achieving sustainable development goals and its emergence as a ‘Global Superfood’.
      • India had proposed to the United Nations to declare the year 2023 as IYM.

     

    • About Millets
      • Indian millets are a group of nutritiously rich, drought tolerant and mostly grown in the arid and semi-arid regions of India
      • Also known as "coarse cereals" or "cereals of the poor"  and  are nutritionally superior to wheat and rice 
      • India is the largest producer of millet, followed by Niger and China.

     

    • Significance
      • Highly adaptive to a wide range of ecological conditions 
      • Millets have low Glycemic Index (GI) thus helpful in the prevention of diabetes
      • Good sources of minerals like iron, zinc, and calcium and are gluten-free
      • Reduces the carbon footprint

     

    • India's initiatives to promote millets
      • The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has implemented the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for the Food Processing Industry for Millet-based products (PLISMBP) during 2022-23 to 2026-27 with an outlay of Rs. 800 crores.
      • Millets are included under the Poshan Abhiyan of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. 
      • An Export Promotion Forum dedicated to promotion in the international market has been set up.

     

    About FAO

    • Genesis: Established in 1945
    • It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
    • Members: 195 members - 194 countries (Including Indiaand the European Union 
    • Reports released by FAO
      • The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security
      • State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) Report 2023
    • Tags :
    • Millets
    • international year of Millet
    • Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
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