In recognition of the weeklong ‘Millet Campaign’ a finale event titled “Millets for Sustainable Development” was organized by the Indian Embassy on 21 February. Indian Ambassador designate H E Dr Adarsh Swaika welcomed all the distinguished guests including Mr Maazen Essa Al-Essa, Undersecretary at the Crown Prince Diwan who was the Chief Guest.
In his address Ambassador Designate extended his warm felicitations to the people and Government of Kuwait on the occasion of the National and Liberation Days of Kuwait. He then described Millets and its benefits. “Small but mighty and full of promises for humanity’s future. Millets are a group of small grains, cultivated as ancient crops in different parts of Asia and Africa. These grains are nutritiously rich, drought tolerant and mostly grown in the arid and semi-arid regions of India. Millets are superior to wheat and rice as they are rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals. While millets are not major food crops in the developed world, they play a vital role in the cuisine of people from many indigenous societies in Asia and Africa.”
He further added that, India had realized the importance of millets in ensuring food and nutrition security to the people of India hence the Government of India celebrated the year 2018 as the National Year of Millets and to further spread awareness about the potential of millets, also known as nutricereals, India proposed and more than 70 countries supported celebrating the year 2023 as International Year of Millets at the 75th UNGA session in March 2021.
Ambassador Swaika continued his speech by adding “The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has emphasized the need for a ‘people’s movement’ to spread awareness about the crucial role millets can play. Very recently, he called millets ‘Shree Anna’ meaning ‘sacred food’ referring to the cultural importance of some of the millets and to the potential they have to offer to humanity. Indeed, the IYOM2023 mission statement reads as ‘Rich in heritage, full of potential’ or ‘iirth ghaniun litaqat kamila’ and as a steering committee member of the FAO, India is leading this initiative globally.
Talking about the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs that have been agreed to by the international community in pursuit of a better world for all. He also specified that millets could be inextricably linked to the achievement of SDGs.
He further added that “Millets are good for our planet and for our people as well as for our palate. They are also good for producers where millets offer as a climate resilient alternative to traditional resource intensive cropping patterns. For consumers, they provide a nutritious product with taste. Millets are rich in fibers, minerals and have low glycemic index. They are also gluten free and are adaptable to all sorts of cuisines.”
Detailing about the events in conjunction with the ‘Millet Campaign’, Ambassador Swaikha also stated that “This week we celebrated the Millets Week in Kuwait with a range of activities involving different stakeholders with several programs planned both by young children and adults to promote the awareness of millets. In all of this, there was a learning opportunity for the young generation, and I am amazed at their sensitivity, creativity and the zeal for creative solutions for the collective problems of the world today. They will live in a world different from ours, but I am glad they are also adding thoughts which is different from ours. I congratulate all the winners and more importantly all those who participated in the competitions and activities held during the Millets Week In Kuwait.”
In conclusion ambassador stressed that Millets could also be an important element of the India-Kuwait bilateral trade in foodgrains because India is a leading producer of different types of millets. While a lot of fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, cereals and rice are imported from India to Kuwait, millets are also seen in some of the supermarkets and departmental stores in Kuwait. “With greater awareness about the benefits and delicious recipes that could be prepared from millets, I am sure the demand for millets would also grow and its visibility in the shelves of all supermarkets. This is why we have also invited important stakeholders who representative’s supermarkets in Kuwait as well as Indian restaurants to this event.
Indian Doctors Forum (IDF) put up a skit with the theme of millet and its advantages with Indian folk dance and music. Indian Chef Chaya Thakkar, who regularly shares her recipes in the weekly Times Kuwait, also gave the invited guests a taste of millets with a variety of preparations.
The events during the day also included a quiz on Millets and a display of 70 creative artworks made using millets, by the students of Indian schools on the themes of Millets for Sustainable Development, Millets for Taste and Nutrition and India-Kuwait Friendship. A Millets Exhibition, displaying the diversity of millets grown in different parts of India and their benefits, was held by Lulu Hypermarkets, Kuwait and Al-Hakimi Supermarket, Kuwait during this event. The Chief Guest and Ambassador also gave away prizes to the winners of various competitions held during the Millets Week in Kuwait as well.
Other activities that were included during the week were Art With Millets poster competition, an online quiz and an awareness campaign titled “Millets in My Tiffin”, which was aimed at generating awareness of Indian millets and the rich diversity of millets cuisine of India as well as the nutrition and health benefits of millets. Also, as a part of the promotion of the millets campaign, First Secretary Mrs. Smita Patil participated in the Good Morning Kuwait Live Show on KTV2 for spreading awareness about Millets in Kuwait, while Chef Chhaya Thakkar spoke about Millets cuisine during a program on Radio Kuwait International. Many Indian students participated in the educational drive conducted by the Embassy under hashtags #MilletsWeekInKuwait and #MilletsInMyTiffin campaigns.
