- The Kerala State Agriculture Department has planned to expand the Millet Village Scheme to Idukki, Wayanad and other parts of Palakkad. The Millet Village Scheme is a 3 year project which started in the year 2017-18.
- The project aims at protecting seeds of traditional varieties of millets and ensures food security and livelihood for tribals. The project is being implemented in selected hamlets in Attapady, Palakkad district, Kerala.
- Under the scheme, the state agriculture department had harvested ragi (finger millet), thina (foxtail millet), cholam (sorghum) and kuthiravaali (barnyard millet). It has also initiated a pilot scheme for cultivating Chia, a Central American plant.
- Millets are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses. They are widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has decided to observe 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
