📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Shiv's fotografia
Agriculture
Odisha Targets 500,000 Hectares of Millet Farming by 2047
✍️ Pragativadi
🗓 11 Nov 2026, 09:19 AM
👁 11
The state government of Odisha announced a plan to expand millet cultivation to 5 lakh hectares by 2047, aiming to boost nutrition and farmer incomes.
Odisha’s agriculture department has set an ambitious target to bring millet cultivation up to 5 lakh hectares by the year 2047. The move is part of a broader effort to diversify cropping patterns and reduce dependence on water‑intensive cereals. Officials say millets, being drought‑tolerant, can thrive on marginal lands and contribute to food security.
The state plans to achieve the goal through a mix of extension services, seed distribution and financial incentives for farmers willing to switch or add millets to their crop basket. Training programmes and demonstration plots are expected to roll out over the next few years to showcase best practices.
If realised, the expansion could improve the nutritional profile of diets in Odisha, where millets are traditionally consumed, and provide a steadier income stream for smallholders facing erratic monsoons. The government will monitor progress against the 2047 milestone and adjust support mechanisms as needed.
The state plans to achieve the goal through a mix of extension services, seed distribution and financial incentives for farmers willing to switch or add millets to their crop basket. Training programmes and demonstration plots are expected to roll out over the next few years to showcase best practices.
If realised, the expansion could improve the nutritional profile of diets in Odisha, where millets are traditionally consumed, and provide a steadier income stream for smallholders facing erratic monsoons. The government will monitor progress against the 2047 milestone and adjust support mechanisms as needed.