26 August 2026, Almora
Under the guidance of Dr Lakshmi Kant, Director, ICAR–Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora, in collaboration with Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tawang, organized a series of Finger Millet Field Days, Farmer–Scientist Interactions and demonstrations of the Vivek Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler across different villages of Tawang district from 17 - 26 August 2026 under the ICAR-VPKAS NEH Programme.
During the programme, farmer–scientist interactions, field days, frontline demonstrations and demonstrations of the Vivek Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler were conducted across different blocks of the district. Scientists and KVK personnel interacted with farmers on improved finger millet production technologies, varietal performance, seed production and exchange, crop management, harvesting and post-harvest management. Discussions were also made on adoption, challenges faced during cultivation and farmers’ preference for VL Mandua 376 over their local cultivars.
The programme commenced on 17 August at Kitpi, where a Farmer–Scientist Interaction was organized with 23 farmers. On 18 August, a Finger Millet Field Day was organized at Baghar village of Lumla Block with the participation of 39 farmers, followed by a demonstration of the Vivek Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler at Phomeng, attended by 30 farmers.
On 19 August, activities were conducted in Zemithang–Dudunghar Block. A Farmer–Scientist Interaction along with a demonstration of the Vivek Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler was organized at Namtsering, involving 34 farmers. Field Days were subsequently conducted at Dongmaring (20 farmers) and Bleting (48 farmers), where farmers also participated in Farmer–Scientist Interactions.
On 20 August, a Field Day was organized at Gongkhar, Mukto–Bongkhar, with 16 farmers, while a Farmer–Scientist Interaction was conducted at Gyamtong, involving 50 farmers. Further Farmer–Scientist Interactions were organized at Grenghar on 21 August (12 farmers), Khet on 22 August (9 farmers), Bomja on 23 August (16 farmers), and Bongleng on 24 August (20 farmers).
The programme continued on 25 August at Sherbang, Lumla, where 23 farmers participated in a Farmer–Scientist Interaction. On 26 August, a Farmer–Scientist Interaction was organized at Ruikhar, Kitpi, with 12 farmers, and a Frontline Demonstration on finger millet was organized at Shernub village.
Across the locations, VL Mandua 376 showed promising performance under farmers’ field conditions, with good crop growth, well-filled panicles, bold grains and effective tillering. A major advantage of the variety is its short duration, maturing about 25–35 days earlier than the local cultivars while providing higher grain yield. Early maturity also reduces the period for which farmers need to guard their fields against wild animals, thereby saving considerable time and labour.
The field-level interactions enabled farmers to directly observe the performance of improved technologies and share their field experiences with scientists. They also helped the scientists understand farmers’ production constraints, experiences and technology needs.
Farmers showed keen interest in VL Mandua 376 and the Vivek Millet Thresher-cum-Pearler, particularly for improving productivity and reducing the labour and drudgery associated with traditional millet threshing and processing.
These activities form part of the efforts of ICAR-VPKAS, Almora, and KVK Tawang to strengthen technology dissemination and promote the wider adoption and horizontal spread of improved finger millet technologies in the North-Eastern Hill Region.
(Source: ICAR–Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora, Uttarakhand)
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