Running the Odisha Millets Mission with Ashima Chaudhary

In the fourth episode of The WELL Labs Show, host Pavan Srinath is joined by Ashima Chaudhary (Managing Partner, Rural Futures, WELL Labs) to unpack how millets went from being seen as “poor people’s food” to becoming a serious solution for nutrition, climate resilience, and farmer livelihoods.Ashima previously worked with WASSAN, where she was the State Programme Coordinator for the Odisha Millets Mission. The conversation explores what millets are, how they are commonly classified (major vs minor millets), and why millet cultivation and consumption declined after the Green Revolution, especially due to the missing processing ecosystems and the dominance of rice and wheat in markets and public distribution.Ashima then takes us inside the story of the Odisha Millets Mission: a systems approach that moved production, processing, procurement, and consumption in parallel. She explains how farmer choice was protected in programme design, how incentives were used to support improved agronomic practices, how participatory varietal trials helped identify and strengthen local seed systems, and how procurement linked to PDS and ICDS helped scale demand alongside supply. We also hear about food festivals, recipe innovation, and what it took to make millets desirable again across rural communities and urban audiences.Ashima Chaudhary is the Managing Partner for Rural Futures at WELL Labs. She has spent over a decade at WASSAN (Watershed Support Services and Activities Network -Watershed Support Services and Activities Network - https://wassan.org/ ) working on millet revival across cultivation, value chains, processing ecosystems, and consumption, contributing to large-scale, government-led efforts such as the Odisha Millet Mission.Pavan Srinath⁠ is the Managing Partner for Communications and Development at WELL Labs. Pavan is a communications and public policy professional who has spent over 14 years working in Bangalore's not-for-profit sector.This episode is essential viewing for anyone working on food systems, climate-resilient agriculture, nutrition, rural livelihoods, public procurement, or systems transformation in government programmes.The WELL Labs Show features rich conversations on water, environment, land and livelihoods, from the people and partners of WELL Labs. Hosted by Pavan Srinath, each episode explores complex environmental and social issues and helps you understand the systems and the dynamics better. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/twls-ashima-chaudhary/Subscribe to the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs and watch all episodes on the official playlist here.Recording by Nabina Chakraborty, Nanditha Gogate and Ritik Pathak. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.