The International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently lauded India for reviving focus on millets and exporting 1.8 million tonnes of wheat to 18 countries that faced an acute shortage of food last year.
About International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
- It is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations.
- It was established as an international financial institution in 1977 through United Nations General Assembly Resolution 32/107 (15 December 1977) as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.
- Headquarters: Rome, Italy
- It is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
- Governance:
- Its Governing Council, consisting of representatives of more than 160 member states, is the principal decision-making body.
- Its 18-member Executive Board oversees daily operations.
- Functions:
- It focuses exclusively on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition; raise their productivity and incomes; and improve the quality of their lives.
- IFAD seeks to empower rural people to increase their food security, improve the nutrition of their families and increase their incomes through funding of grants and low-interest loans to several projects.
- The IFAD assists vulnerable groups such as smallholder farmers, pastoralists, foresters, fishers and small-scale entrepreneurs in rural areas by providing, among others, access to weather information, disaster preparedness, social learning and technology transfer that enables farmers to feed growing populations and increase the climate resilience of rural farming systems.
What are Millets?
- Millets are coarse grains with a high nutritional value.
- They are rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and fibres.
- Unlike other cereals, millets require little water and ground fertility.
- They’re also able to survive in harsh environments and less fertile soil.