New Delhi, May 13 -- The Shree Anna Abhiyan (SAA), formerly the Odisha Millets Mission, seeks to revive indigenous millets, conserve biodiversity and empower tribal and small marginal farmers in Odisha. Millets, integral to tribal diets and cultures, are climate-resilient, nutrient-rich crops thriving in rainfed regions like Koraput, ensuring food security and ecological sustainability.

However, a state-driven agenda - influenced by corporate seed companies - promotes hybrid millet seeds, threatening these gains.

This shift risks biodiversity loss, market dependency, and health hazards, undermining farmers' food sovereignty and contradicting India's commitments under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act (PPVFR), ...