Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar, March 18 (IANS) A state-wide 'Millet Mahotsav and Natural Farmer Market' will be held across 16 municipal corporations in Gujarat on March 21 and 22, with the main event scheduled at the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, state spokesperson and Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani said on Wednesday.

The two-day event, organised by the Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation under the state Agriculture Department, will take place simultaneously in cities including Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Navsari, Vapi, Nadiad, Mehsana, Surendranagar, Morbi, Porbandar and Gandhidham.

Ministers and other dignitaries are expected to attend events in different cities.

Providing details following discussions in the state cabinet, Vaghani said the festival is being held under the slogan “Earth’s Gold — Adopt Shree Anna, Attain a Healthy Life”, with the aim of promoting millets in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Shree Anna’ campaign.

Around 85 stalls will be set up at the Sabarmati Riverfront venue in Ahmedabad, while a total of 620 stalls will be established across other cities.

These have been allotted free of cost to farmer groups, farmer producer organisations and individual cultivators.

The initiative is intended to enable farmers to sell millet products directly to consumers, reduce the role of intermediaries and secure better prices.

Vaghani said the festival will feature millet exhibitions, food festivals, an agri-technology zone, and stalls by agri-startups and women entrepreneurs.

Visitors will be able to purchase millet-based products and sample freshly prepared dishes made from millets.

He said millets and natural farming are complementary, noting that millet crops require less water and can be cultivated without chemical fertilisers, making them suitable for cow-based farming practices.

"The state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, is seeking to promote natural farming and increase farmers’ incomes through such initiatives," he added.

--IANS

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