D.K. Shivakumar to inaugurate international Millet conference: Expo to promote sustainable agriculture

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Sri Sri Naisargik (SSN) and the University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, are set to host the International Conference on Millets and a Millet Expo from December 9 to 11, at the Art of Living International Centre.

The event will be inaugurated by the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, D K Shivakumar, in the presence of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Additionally, the Minister for Agriculture, Government of Karnataka, Cheluvarayaswamy, and S T Somashekar, MLA, will be present at the inauguration.

This initiative aligns with the celebration of the 'International Year of Millets' and aims to showcase the strides made in organic and natural farming techniques.

The Millet Expo will serve as a platform for interaction between farmers and scientists, featuring the exhibition of processing machinery and promoting market link and backward integration.

At the heart of this gathering is the promotion of millet, an essential component of the Indian diet with unparalleled health benefits. Dr Khadar Vali, renowned as the 'Millet Man of India,' will be a key speaker at the conference.

Millets can be grown anywhere, even in areas with low precipitation, and they possess higher genomic content."

Dr. Vali further underscores the critical role of millets in mitigating global warming, proposing a shift from rice and wheat worldwide.