U.P. developing millet jaggery, to rope in SHGs for sale
The Shahjahanpur-based institute is working with Sparsh Fellow Suchitra Singh to develop a new type of jaggery that is rich in minerals and vitamins
The Uttar Pradesh Council of Sugarcane Research (UPCSR) is developing a new type of jaggery made from millets and coarse grains that is going to be richer in minerals and vitamins, it said. The Shahjahanpur-based institute is working with Sparsh Fellow Suchitra Singh.
The distribution and selling of this product, once ready for mass production, will be done by women self-help groups. An MoU has been signed between the UPCSR, an association of sugar mills and Singh, the winner of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council Sparsh Fellowship, to develop the technology for this product, and see this venture through.
UPCSR director SK Shukla said, “SHGs will be involved once the technology has been developed, for the distribution and sale. First we will develop the product, hone in on what food items it can be used in, test it in the market and then go for mass production.”
According to Ashfi Lal, district sugarcane officer, this step is in line with the United Nations declaring 2023 as the international year for millets. Once initiated, the women of the SHGs will be trained and given infrastructural support by the institute, added Lal.