Millets are abundant in essential amino acids, micro-nutrients and various bio active compounds, making them an invaluable resource for combating lifestyle disorders and boosting the well-being of society. Millets indeed have a great answer to all kinds of crises including that of water, nutrition, and climate change and further carry the promise of mitigating the miseries of malnutrition prevented over so widely in the country. The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets, a move proposed by India. During its G20 presidency, India can emerge as a global learning hub on millet production.
In this connection, the Department of Life Science, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar was organized a National conference – “Status of Millet Cultivation: Challenges and opportunities” (SMCCO-2023) from 21st September to 23rd September 2023. As many as 150 participants from CUSB and other universities like RPCAU, Pusa, MGCU, Motihari , including near about 70 faculty was participated in this conference.
The inauguration has taken in the esteemed presence of Padm Shree Bhart Bhushan Tyagi as chief guest and guest of honors as Dr. Arvind Kumar DDG, ICRISAT, Hyderabad. In the inauguration ceremony the Chief Patron, Prof. Kameshwer Nath Singh, HVC, CUSB, Patron, Prof. Pradhan Parth Sarthi, Dean SEBES, CUSB, Convener, Dr. Gautam Kumar and other organizing members of the Department of Life Science, CUSB had enlighten the fountain flame to formally open the session and welcome the dignitaries and delegated along with other participates. The display of abstract book for the conference has taken in the esteemed presence of the above said persons.
The social aspect of millet cultivation is equally vital as scientific research. The conference had delved into the following social dimensions: Farmer Empowerment: By sharing success stories and best practices, the conference had empowered farmers with the knowledge and tools needed to enhance millet cultivation on their lands. Cultural Relevance: Millets hold significant cultural value in various regions. The conference had explored the cultural significance of millets and strategies to promote their consumption as a part of cultural heritage. Policy and Advocacy: Policymakers, NGOs, and activists had discussed the role of policy in promoting millet cultivation. Advocacy efforts to increase government support and incentivize millet farming had been central topic. Market Access: Connecting millet farmers to markets is crucial for the economic viability of cultivation. Experts had discussed strategies to improve market access, establish supply chains, and create demand for millet products. Community Engagement: Community engagement and awareness-building campaigns have been discussed to encourage more people to embrace millets as a sustainable food source.
The conference has feature keynote speakers from agriculture, nutrition, and sustainability. Their perspectives have paved the way for fruitful debates and cooperation. Among the keynote speakers are: Dr. Ranjeet Ranjan Kumar, ICAR – IARI, New Delhi, delivers remarkable talk on the characterizing the pearl of Indian agriculture – Rediscovering hidden treasure for developing food for future (F4F). Dr. Kushagra Ranjendra added his voice to significant role of millets in the agriculture under the tittle Millet: can it be revived as staple grain, further Prof. P.K. Singh pave the light of information on the Status of finger millet: challenges and opportunities in Indian agriculture system that has motivated the participates and farmers at the same time. Cultural programmed has been Channelized by Dr. Anindya Deb. Second day of the events has been blessed with the motivation from the scientific communities delivering talks on the biochemical aspect of Enhancing C4 photosynthetic efficiency of millets for climate resilient agriculture by Prof. B.C. Tripathy, budding scientist form the school of agriculture and development has enjoyed the session with high throughput energy and scientific interaction. Several oral and poster presentation was also coincided in the program from different group of students and research scholar across state and national universities. Following next day Dr. Sumer Pal Singh, ICAR- IARI, New Delhi, taken the interactive session on the Millets: Sustainable solution for nutritional security that had encourage many young research scholars to discovered their interest in the understating the agronomical potential of millets. Dr. Ravi Kumar Singh from Magadh University in Bodhgaya gave an invited speech on the subject of “Genomic basis of millets to challenge climate change”. Dean of the School of Earth and Biological Sciences at CUSB, Prof. Pradhan Partha Sarathi, gave a distinguished speech on “climate change in Bihar.”
Valedictory session was concluded by the organizing committee of the conference in which Register, Col. Rajiv Kumar Singh has participated and taken the opportunities to honors the farmer from the local villages. The Department of Life Science, CUSB conducted the Poster Presentation in accordance with Oral presentation competitions among the students and scholars in order to enhance the young scientists’ ideas over these three days. Priyanshu Saha and team from CUSB’s Department of Agriculture and Development took first place in the poster presentation, followed by Tushar Bharadwaj and team from the same department in second place, and Amitesh Kumar and team from CUSB’s Department of Life Science in third place. The first prize in oral presentations went to Surbhi Kumari, a PhD student from the Department of Life Science at CUSB. Likewise, Chandranshu Kasturi and Dayanji Sherpa , PhD scholars from RPCAU, PUSA, received the second and third prizes. The Chief Speaker, Dr. Sumer Pal Singh and Col. Rajeev Kumar Singh registrar of the University presented awards and certificates to each winner. Finally, the convener Dr. Gautam Kumar organizing members of Department of Life Science, CUSB, expressed gratitude to all of the attendees and visitors.
