IIMR provides skill-building in value addition, marketing, mechanization, and entrepreneurship which boosts productivity and income for millet stakeholders.

IIMR’s training empowers stakeholders by providing knowledge on improved agronomy, post-harvest technologies, and value chain management. Their programs build capacity for modern cultivation, entrepreneurial millet processing, and market linkages, helping farmers and startups capitalize on the rising demand for millets.

Himanshu Tiwari

ICAR‑IIMR’s training and consultancy services for millet production have shown strong measurable impact in empowering farmers, FPOs, and startups across key domains:

Knowledge Transfer & Skill Enhancement

A pan‑India evaluation involving 450 participants revealed that over 60% strongly agreed their training improved understanding of millet cultivation practices, FPO operations, mechanization, value addition, and market dynamics. These results demonstrate high efficacy in equipping stakeholders with modern agronomic and processing know‑how.

Value Chain Strengthening & Market Access

IIMR facilitated the establishment of over a dozen primary processing units at FPO farm-gates across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, significantly reducing post-harvest losses and enabling better linkage to formal markets (e.g., GeM, ONDC, government MSP schemes). For instance, Aland and Hulsoor FPOs recorded ₹10–27 Lakh in revenue during their first year, along with improved farmer incomes.

Institutional & Community Building

The training programs also catalyzed FPO emergence, peer learning, and social capital formation. ICAR‑IIMR’s support helped launch successful entities like Bettada Basaveshwara FPCL in Raichur, where trainings, machinery access, buyback schemes, and awareness campaigns led to over 500 acres of millet adoption in a single season.

Summary Assessment

The evidence suggests that IIMR's integrated model—combining technical training, processing infrastructure, market channel development, and organizational capacity building—has been highly effective at catalyzing millet-based enterprises. Technology adoption is notably robust where stakeholders receive hands-on training coupled with practical, community-level implementation. Continued monitoring, policy support, and scaling of these interventions will be key to sustaining momentum across other regions.