Koraput Millets Ragi Kodo Tribal Farming Odisha

Koraput district of Odisha is one of India greatest biodiversity hotspots for millet cultivation, with tribal farming communities of Kondh, Paraja, Gadaba, and Bonda peoples maintaining hundreds of indigenous varieties of finger millet ragi, kodo millet, little millet saon, and foxtail millet kangu across the Eastern Ghats highland. Koraput was selected as one of five globally important agricultural heritage systems by FAO in 2012 for its agro-biodiversity. The Koraput tribal millet farming system integrates intercropping, shifting cultivation on defined rotation cycles, soil conservation, and community seed sharing. Tribal farmer cooperatives under the MKCG OTELP programme collect, dry, and market indigenous millet flour and seed to health food networks and state procurement. Women perform nearly all millet cultivation and processing tasks. The Shree Annapurna millet cooperative based in Jeypore markets Koraput heritage millets including Kangni, Kutki, and Sawan to urban organic food buyers.