International Year of Millets: PAU holds training in millet cultivation and processing

As many as 67 rural women are attending the course, organised under the guidance of Dr GS Buttar, Director of Extension Education, PAU.

International Year of Millets, Millet-based bakery products, Nutritional benefits of millets, Skill Development Centre, Punjab Agricultural University, Rural women training course, Dr. GS Buttar, Food and Nutrition department, Food Science and Technology department, Traditional diet, Ragi (finger millet), Jowar (sorghum), Bajra (pearl millet), Health-related diseases, Food security, Climate change, Caramel cake, Sponge cake, Eggless cake, Self-reliance, Cultivation of millets, Agronomic practices, Jowar and Bajra cultivation, Processing techniques, Nutritional and health benefits, Use in animal feed, Marketing

The course has been designed in association with the Departments of Food and Nutrition as well as Food Science and Technology, PAU.

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With 2023 being celebrated as the international year of millets, a five-day training course on the “Preparation of cakes, biscuits and sweets using millets” kicked off at the Skill Development Centre of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Tuesday, to promote the usage of millets in bakery products for nutritional benefits.

As many as 67 rural women are attending the course, organised under the guidance of Dr GS Buttar, Director of Extension Education, PAU. The course has been designed in association with the Departments of Food and Nutrition as well as Food Science and Technology, PAU.

Dr Kuldeep Singh, Associate Director (Skill Development), said that the course, which will culminate on April 21, has been planned to create awareness about millets which have been a vital part of our traditional diet but their cultivation could not pick up due to more preference to paddy and wheat.

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Dr Rupinder Kaur, Course Coordinator, while highlighting the importance of millets (ragi (finger millet), jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet), etc.), informed that these helped in curbing health related diseases, and tackling food security and climate change issues.

Dr Jaswinder Brar, a food and nutrition expert, demonstrated the making of caramel, sponge and eggless cakes, and urged the trainees to go in for their own startups to be self-reliant.

Meanwhile, a training course on the “Cultivation of Millets (Mote Anaaj)” saw the participation of seven farmers.

Experts, namely Dr Amit Kaul, Dr Maninder Kaur, Dr Inderpreet Kaur Dhaliwal, Dr Renuka Aggarwal, Dr Jagbir Rehal and Dr Arshdeep Singh touched various aspects of millets by placing thrust on their agronomic practices; cultivation of jowar and bajra for healthy lifestyle; their significance and processing techniques; their nutritional and health benefits; their use in animal feed; and their use in different recipes and marketing, respectively.

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