Raimati Ghiuria, a young tribal woman hailing from Odisha, is being recognized as the ‘Queen of Millets’ due to her contributions to preserving 30 varieties of rare millets. She also educates people on various aspects of millet cultivation, including techniques for growth, enhancing quality, and preservations.
Odisha: Raimati Ghiuria, a young tribal woman hailing from Odisha, is being recognized as the ‘Queen of Millets’ due to her contributions to preserving 30 varieties of rare millets. Millets are globally recognized as superfoods, and staples like jowar and bajra have long been a part of traditional Indian diets. With the increased awareness about maintaining good health, the demand for millets has also doubled.
Who is Raimati Ghiuria?
Raimati Ghiuria is a resident to Raimati Ghiuria. She was married off at the young age of 16. Her formal school education was discontinued after grade 7. Despite that, she possessed extensive knowledge about preserving and cultivating millets. She gained immense experience by actively working in the fields. Raimati cultivates millets on her four-acre land plot. She seeks inspiration from 70-year-old Kamala Pujari, a Padma Shri awardee, renowned for her dedication to preserving diverse paddy seeds.
Gaining recognition
Raimati’s dedication prompted her to join MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, a Chennai-based NGO that works for empowering rural women. Through this organization, Raimati imparted modern preservation techniques and training to over 2500 farmers. She was also invited to the G20 summit, where she had the opportunity of meeting President Droupadi Murmu. During the summit, people learned about her contributions. Her efforts to preserve 72 varieties of paddy and 30 varieties of millets were commended.
Providing training
Raimati also runs a farm school in her village to promote millet-related activities. She teaches women to make laddus and other food items from millets, with an aim to encourage them to sell these products in local market to earn a living.
She also educates people on various aspects of millet cultivation, including techniques for growth, enhancing quality, and preservations. She empowers local farmers by sharing her knowledge with them.
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