New Delhi, May 6 -- A state initiative meant to revive millet cultivation in Odisha is drawing criticism from tribal communities, who alleged that the programme is displacing native seed varieties with high-yielding alternatives unsuited to local conditions. Farmers, nutritionists and local organisations have raised an alarm over what they described as a deviation from the original goals of the Odisha Millet Mission (OMM).

The Shree Anna Abhiyan, officially known as the Special Programme for the Promotion of Millets in Tribal Areas of Odisha, was launched by the Odisha government in 2017 with the aim of reviving millet cultivation in farms and restoring millets to local diets.

For decades, millets - particularly finger millet (ragi or ...