Millet products’ stall a hit at Shimla Summer Festival

SHIMLA: Traditional Pahari dish ‘siddus’, millet tea, biscuits, sweets and natural produce sold by women farmer groups from Shimla district at a stall put up by the Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana (PK3Y) of the Himachal Pradesh government caught the fancy of locals and tourists alike at the Shimla Summer festival which ended on Sunday.

The stall touched sales of around Rs 80,000, with four women farmer groups, including two from Mashobra and one each from Basantpur and Anandpur, selling the natural produce and products in three days.

“It is the first such opening for us. We are happy with the outcome as the buyers are showing great interest in our fresh vegetables and millet dishes,” said Deepika, a young farmer, member of Mahila Krishak Samuh Kahala in Anandpur Panchayat of Totu block in Shimla.

The 23 members in the group practised natural farming for two years on at least one bigha land each after they were trained by the Agricultural Technology Management Agency staff.

The Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana, a state government scheme, has been promoting non-chemical, low-cost and climate-resilient natural farming in the state since 2018.