There were many exciting events around the closure of the IFAD-NUS project in India in February. At the final meeting in Chennai (Feb 17/18), the research partners shared experiences and knowledge gained in four regions of India (Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand) and discussed the way forward to continue to promote and conserve minor millets (view a reflection on the event on the Bioversity International webpage).

Following the meeting the project team made a field visit to Kolli Hills, where the local communities put on a big event with music, dance, food and celebration as they shared the great achievements they have realized with the support of the project. They gave us a warm welcome, laying wreaths of flowers over our heads, and then led us in procession toward the village of Thuvarapallam.

A formal inauguration ceremony was held for the community seed bank and millet processing centre that completed construction just recently. The local women's self help group raised the funds to buy the land and the community provided the labour to build the two-room structure from materials purchased with the financial support of the project. The processing centre hosts a mechanical mill that had been previously stored in the home of Pannammal, a local woman who showed a profound commitment to her community in offering her space for seven years. Now the village has a dedicated community centre where they can safeguard their seeds, process their finger millet into flour, as well as meet to discuss seed management and other local farming issues. Six similar spaces have been established in six other villages in Kolli Hills through the project.

Following speeches of thanks and recognition, we proceeded to the newly established village knowledge centre and weather station that was also realized with the support of the project. The weather station sits on the roof of the building and measures temperature, humidity, precipitation, solar radiation and wind speed every 10 minutes. MSSRF is working to link the weather station to the village knowledge center, where they have a couple computers holding videos and documents with accessible information on good farming practices, as well as health and nutrition and basic education resources for children. Here we met with a group of children and their teachers and saw first hand how this building has become a vital community space. The centre will facilitate the integration of weather information with data collected on crops in the People's Biodiversity Register to guide planting and risk management decisions.

Continuing in the festive atmosphere, we then partook in a “millet mela” – a festival celebrating traditional crop diversity that has become a common occurrence in these villages through the promotional work and support of the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation. Farmers from different districts displayed the diversity they cultivate and collect from adjacent forest areas. We shared a feast of millet-based dishes with a delicious variety of tastes and textures. Song, dance and theatre entertainment were provided by local children, including a skit on the importance of conserving trees and speeches about the value of millets.

Local leaders and government officials were present at the event and one local agricultural officer expressed his passion for continuing to promote millet cultivation in the area. He remarked that with climate change coming they will have to grow millet again – so it is good to get ready and start the adaptation process sooner than later.

Photos from the event are available on Flikr: View by this link.

Reflection by Gennifer Meldrum, Research Fellow, Nutrition and Marketing Diversity