Vikasnagar (Uttarakhand): As farmers prioritize cash crops in the modern agricultural age, a farmer in Uttarakhand's Vikasnagar is sticking to traditional millet crops, locally known as 'kauni' for profound health benefits.
Atar Singh, a farmer from Ichhala village of Jaunsar in Vikasnagar said that kauni was consumed a lot in the earlier days, but farmers are shunning the crop for cash crops with better returns. Singh said that traditional crops like kauni should also be grown in order to preserve the tradition and increase the crop utility.
“Elderly people used to feed Kauni to children in earlier days to treat measles and fever. It is also considered beneficial for high sugar,” Singh added.
Resistant To Insects: Shrichand Sharma, an agricultural expert said that Konda (Ragi), Jhangora, Chaini and Kauni are such coarse grains which have a cover on the grain, which makes them resistant to insects.
“The most damage to these crops is caused by flocks of parrots standing in the fields. But farmers do not have to work hard to produce Kauni crop. This crop can also withstand drought. It is necessary for us to produce traditional crops along with cash crops,” Sharma said.
Dr. Sanjay Singh, scientist at Krishi Vigyan Kendra Vikasnagar in Dehradun said that millets are full of nutrition and can be grown at a low cost as compared to other crops.
Good Source Of Protein And Energy: Millets are a good source of calcium, protein and energy and are considered to be helpful in many diseases. The Government of India and the United Nations, providing a global platform to coarse grains, declared the year 2023 as 'International Coarse Grain Year'. The year gives an opportunity to promote the local produce of the states to increase the income of the farmers and attract farmers towards traditional farming.
Read more:
