The greatest achievements come from the biggest challenges. I am so proud that AVARD has stood by the vision to reach out to the unreached and to illuminate lives and empower them even during these difficult times.
The United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session in March 2021 declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). Millets can grow on arid lands with minimal inputs and are resilient to changes in climate. They are therefore an ideal solution for countries to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported cereal grains.
I want to specially congratulate the team for standing with AVARD through thick and thin. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Executive Director of AVARD, Rev.Fr. Manoj Karippai and Rev. Fr. Dinto Thekkiniyath, Secretary cum Treasurer for their hard work to sustain the NGO during these turbulent times.
May the Almighty God bless AVARD and help them resilient with greater impact on the society the coming years.
Blessings!
I am delighted that AVARD has completed another year of selfless service by recognizing the needs of the time and initiated different innovations and collaborations for the development of the rural community. I take this time to congratulate the various departments for their accomplishment in the previous year under the expert leadership of Fr. Manoj karippai, Executive Director and Fr. Dinto Thekkiniyath, Secretary cum Treasurer.
UN has declared this year as “The International year of Millets”. Millets can play an important role to empower smallholder farmers, achieve sustainable development, eliminate hunger, adapt to climate change, promote biodiversity, and transform agrifood systems.
I pray for God’s blessing in all your endeavors and may AVARD soar high and reach new levels in the years to come.
Blessings!
AVARD has completed 37 years of selfless service to the society and we are pleased to have kindled the fire of goodness into the social and personal lives of many even during these turbulent times.
For centuries, millets were the staples in India and were grown as traditional crops in several countries. Experts say the Green Revolution eliminated food diversity and reduced the importance of millets in our farms and plates.
With the growing concerns of life style diseases coupled with ‘refined’ diet culture, the modern consumers have now begun to look at the nutrient rich millets as an alternative to wheat and rice. With COVID -19, momentum picked up and both the urban and rural consumers are choosing millets for improving their nutrition & strengthening their immunity. In order to encourage production and consumption of millets, Government of India notified millets as Nutri-Cereals in April, 2018.
Millets are a powerhouse of nutrients, are gluten-free and has low glycaemic index that can solve the crisis of micronutrient deficiency. In addition to the health benefits, millets can be grown easily in drought-prone environments with poor soils as they are hardy and salinity tolerant thus minimizing the risk to Farmers.
India is honoured to be at the forefront of popularizing millets. As the global Agrifood system faces challenge to feed an ever-growing global population, resilient cereals like millets provide an affordable and nutritious option and efforts need to be intensified to promote their cultivation.
I take this opportunity to thank the Almighty God, our Bishop, Trustees, board members, our supporters and the AVARD family for standing with me in all the endeavors.
Let us sail together and cross new milestones to reach out to the unreached and illuminate many more lives.
Blessings!
