the goan I network
PANAJI
The Agriculture Department has stepped in to revive the an indigenous and rare variety of millet called Little Millet (Vari).
Tribals in Gaodongrim-Canacona were cultivating the Little Millet (Vari) two generations ago. The local seed of the strain had virtually gone extinct from Goa. Vari is a nutritious variety which finds use in nutritional commercial products like cerelac and was cultivated in Goa several years ago.
Agronomy specialist Chandrahas Dessai, who is attached to Krishi Vigyan Kendra, South Goa, took the initiative to revive the cultivation of the crop and has managed to get the seeds of Vari from the Dr Balasaheb Konkan Krishi Vidyapith Dapoli, Maharashtra.
He has already held field demonstrations in Canacona, Quepem, Sanguem and Dharbandora talukas.
Meanwhile, Rajesh Gaonkar, a young farmer belonging to the ST community from Zintawadi, Gaodongri, said he was very happy to harvest a bumper crop of vari in the same field in which his grandfather cultivated the millet decades ago. Before the introduction of high yielding hybrid varieties of rice, traditional farmers used to grow Little Millet (Vari) and Finger Millet (nachni) in the high-lying sloppy lands where rice cultivation is difficult.
The nutritious vari and nachni were used as a supplement to rice.
Dessai said, before high yielding varieties of paddy could be deployed, farmers were growing local varieties like Patni, Khochari, Jinesal, Pandayi which were giving less yield so farmers were cultivating vari and nachni on hilly slopes in addition to paddy in the low-lying plains.
The plant is grown in the monsoon and has a 100-110 days cultivation period. Dessai meanwhile informed that Krishi Vigyan Kendra South Goa has also successfully tested cultivation of salt tolerant high yielding varieties CSR-46 and CSR-56 which have been brought from Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal Haryana.
Cultivation of Vari has been adopted by the Gaonkar family after two of their generations had given it up.
Vari has high mineral and calcium content compared to all whole grains and minerals. Little Millet is a powerhouse of protein and amino acids and is a great alternative for rice and wheat, especially for diabetics.
Many local delicacies such as ladoo, polle, etc which are made from rice can also be made from vari. Products made out of vari, including (kanji) were a staple in remote villages in the hilly regions of the state.
These seeds have been given to a farmer Mathew Oliveira from Lotulim and also farmers field demonstration were conducted for paddy variety Ratnagiri-6 and Ratnagiri -7 in the fields of Dayanand Faldesai from Cavre Pirla, Quepem.
