Superfood millet is making a comeback in Kanthalloor, Kerala, after decades, thanks to Lenovo’s global initiative – `Work for Humankind’ – wherein its India edition with the help of a group of driven volunteering heroes and community partners has tried to enhance the efficiency and productivity of the local millet farmers by leveraging Lenovo’s tech eco-system.
`Work for Humankind’ is Lenovo’s global initiative to make a positive and long-lasting difference in the world while working from a remote place with Lenovo’s smarter technology. This initiative is a result of the global research study, spanning eight markets, including India, and building on Lenovo’s journey towards understanding the powerful connection between technology and humanity.
The global technology major has recently announced the successful culmination of its `Work for Humankind’ initiative with six millet varieties making a comeback in Kanthalloor. Branded Kanthalloor Millets, these six varieties will make their way to the kitchens and tables of local homestays and Anganwadi schools, as a result of Lenovo’s tech-based prototype model to revive millet cultivation, ease millet production processes and create market linkages.
Lenovo’s initiative has so far brought together volunteers, farmers, community partners and local educational institutions to enable the revival of six varieties of millets, including Finger millet, Barnyard millet, Little millet, Foxtail millet, Proso millet and Kodo millet, cultivated by 25 farmers in 15 acres of land.
Access to technology
An important milestone for the initiative was the setting up of the Lenovo Digital Center for Kanthalloor Millets at the IHRD College for Applied Sciences, Kanthalloor, to ensure that the community had access to technology tools to succeed in the project. The Center has enabled digital access to the farming community and has emerged as the hub for important information relating to government schemes like state crop insurance, crop diversification schemes, subsidies, peer learning and sharing insights on millet cultivation methods. Farmers in Kanthalloor today use smartphones to access information and stay connected with the digital center, volunteers, as well as the community.
Lenovo also announced a partnership with Samudra Network and Agri App, to digitise the agricultural value chain specific to millet farming in Kanthalloor. This includes crop detail tracking, digitization of processing operations for quality control and market catalogue creation.
“Digitisation plays a crucial role in streamlining operations, improving crop management, and expanding market reach,” remarks Sneha Lakshman, co-founder, Samudra Network.
“At Lenovo, we believe our smarter technology solutions have the power to bridge the digital divide and create a more inclusive world with lasting impact. Our Work for Humankind initiative in Kanthalloor is a testament to this belief. With support from Dream India Network, we have empowered farmers to harness the magic of technology to revive millet cultivation and make them market-ready. Kanthalloor proves that access to technology can transform communities and even revive lost traditions, says Pratima Harite, head, Asia Pacific CSR & Philanthropy, Lenovo Foundation.
Digitisation plays a crucial role in streamlining operations, improving crop management, and expanding market reach
“Millet is part of Kanthalloor’s history,” says Kanth Mohandas, president, Kanthalloor Gram Panchayat. “And, we are glad to have revived our traditional farming practices with the help of modern technology. We would like to thank Lenovo and all their partners involved in this project for making Kanthalloor Millets a reality. This is yet another feather in the cap of Kanthalloor, which recently won Gold for Best Tourism Village in Kerala from the Central government. The Gram Panchayat will support and nurture this initiative for the long term.”
As part of the initiative, Lenovo has also set up a millet processing center that is run by the women members of the Kudumbashree Self-Help Group in Kanthalloor. The processing centre offers services to the farming community and purchases the millets from farmers ensuring timely payments for the produce. The facility will also be a seed bank and sales hub for Kanthalloor Millets.
The UN had declared 2023 as the International Year of the Millet. It sparked a lot of interest in millet value chains worldwide. Kanthalloor is a beautiful place, nestling in the misty Western Ghats and lush forests. In the past, it was famous for cultivating over 18 different types of millet. Unfortunately, over time, that number dwindled to just two varieties.