Mysore/Mysuru: CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI)  celebrated World Food Day 2023”at  Cheluvamba Hall of CFTRI Campus with the theme “Water is life, Water is food, Leave no one behind” on Oct. 16.

Dr. N.G. Malleshi, a well-known Scientist in the area of millet research and former Head, Grain Science and Technology, CSIR-CFTRI was the chief guest for this event and inaugurated the programme by watering a sapling.

Dr. Malleshi gave a talk on “Mainstreaming Millets for Food and Nutritional Security.” He  explained about replacing the high water crops with the millets to achieve water conservation, as water is life for better tomorrow.

He emphasised the development of millet-based value- added food products to attract more consumers towards millet consumption which has lots of health benefits and stressed upon the generation of more research data and scientific evidence to prove the other health benefits of millets and appreciated Government of India’s stand on promoting millets in the international forums.

Dr. Sridevi Annapurna Singh, Director, CSIR-CFTRI,  presided over the function and emphasised that it is every one’s responsibility to conserve  water for better tomorrow. She said millet agriculture is one of the right paths to conserve water and explained the importance of millet research and  technologies that were developed at CFTRI  pertaining to millets and its products. 

Earlier, the  Director and chief guest along with Retd. Scientists, staff and students paid homage to Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Father of Green Revolution and World Food Prize Laureate, who passed away on September 28, 2023.

He was Research Council Chairman to CSIR-CFTRI and  some of his achievements and memoirs in CFTRI were remembered during the event.