Project Anantha Innovations
Quinoa – The wonder millet under "PROJECT ANANTHA"Quinoa, a pseudo – millet considered to be the staple food of the Andes region from the Inca civilization days is now finding its place under “Project Anantha” experiment in which Quinoa was grown both at Hyderabad a year back and in Ananthapuramu district and was met with a runaway success.
Infact, Quinoa is known in the Andes by the name “Chisaya mama” which means mother of all grains and is found to be containing all the 10 essential amino acids and is low in its glycemic index. It is because of these qualities the world is looking at Quinoa as an alternative to the existing food grains, more importantly for people with diabetes.
The experiment carried out at Hyderabad had resulted in emergence of an Indian specific variety which we presently call as “Project Anantha Quinoa” because the experiment was carried out to help primarily the drought affected formers of Ananthapuramu district. What is more satisfying is, its leaves are not only fit for human consumption like any other green leafy vegetable but the excess of it can also be fed to the cattle and sheep. This answers certain questions raised by the farmers is Ananthapuramu district whether the crop can replace groundnut from which they get fodder to their cattle.
There are also certain successful experiments conducted by APARD through which it is understood that Quinoa can be used for making dosas, idlis and payasam (a sweet dish / Kheer).
The crop has been successfully harvested by a farmer in Ananthapuramu district and being successfully grown by 47 other farmers identified by the Collector,Ananthapuramu and ably guided and supported by a team of Officers from “Project Anantha”
The Commercial exploitation of crop is only one season away……………….K.Chandramouli, IAS(Rtd.)
Solid rain in India – APARD experiment
Much has been talked about solid rain as an alternative to the problem of droughts caused by moisture stress due to failure of rains. One district in India which is known to be perennially affected due to failure of monsoons is Anathapuramu district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Government of A.P. had taken up a huge initiative under the banner called “Project Anantha” which during the last six months had met with phenomenal success in identifying and implementing the following 5 major approaches to combat droughts in the district :
- Highly successful maiden / first time cultivation of Quinoa, not only under the controlled conditions at Hyderabad but also for commercial production in the farmers’ fields in Anathapuramu district.
- Field testing of Solid rain (Potassium Poly acrylate ) in the farmers field for pomegranate, mango and sweet orange plants.
- Value addition to Jowar crop in close coordination with the Directorate of Sorghum Research(DSR), Hyderabad.
- Commercial production of high yielding varieties of Pongamia through grafted plants.
- Weaning the farmers away from groundnut, the traditional loss making groundnut to the alternative crops.