Bhubaneswar: Fresh concerns have emerged over the future pace of Odisha’s widely recognised millet mission after the proposed budget allocation for the Shree Anna Abhiyan was reduced from ₹600 crore to ₹415 crore for 2026-27, marking a cut of nearly 31 percent.
The reduction comes despite the programme reportedly achieving around 93 percent fund utilisation during the previous financial year, reflecting strong implementation and sustained field-level demand across millet-growing regions.
Officials and sector observers also noted that the proposed demonstration coverage under the scheme may decline from 1.5 lakh hectares to 1 lakh hectares during the coming financial year.
The development has raised particular concern regarding possible impacts on tribal regions and the cultivation of non-ragi millets such as foxtail millet, little millet, barnyard millet and sorghum, which could now receive comparatively lower institutional support.
Over the past several years, Odisha had emerged as a national model for millet-based agriculture through large-scale investments in climate-resilient farming, nutrition security and tribal livelihood enhancement. The initiative played a major role in encouraging farmers to gradually diversify away from water-intensive paddy cultivation towards more sustainable cropping systems.
Agriculture experts and farmer-producer organisations have argued that the next phase of the millet mission should focus on strengthening procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP), expanding market access through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), establishing millet processing infrastructure and developing export-oriented value chains.
Stakeholders believe long-term and consistent policy support will be essential for transforming Odisha’s millet ecosystem into a sustainable agricultural and rural economic model capable of generating income, improving nutrition and supporting climate resilience across vulnerable regions.
