CM Mohan Yadav: Dindori tops India in PM Dhan-Dhanya farm scheme
Synopsis
Dindori district in Madhya Pradesh has ranked first among 100 districts under the PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana for July 2026, driven by Kodo-Kutki millet promotion, natural farming, and a GI tag for local produce, CM Dr. Mohan Yadav announced.
Key Takeaways
Dindori district secured rank 1 among 100 selected districts across India under the PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana for July 2026 .
The ranking was driven by promotion of Kodo-Kutki millet cultivation , natural farming , and organic certification for farmers.
Dindori's Kodo-Kutki products have received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag , enabling premium branding and global market access.
Madhya Pradesh has been scaling up natural and organic farming programmes in tribal districts since 2020 .
India led the push for the UN's International Year of Millets in 2023 , underpinning national policy support for minor millets like Kodo and Kutki.
A tribal-majority district in eastern Madhya Pradesh has just outranked every other agricultural district in the country — and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav wants India to know it. On Wednesday, 19 August 2026, the Chief Minister announced that Dindori district has secured the number-one rank among 100 selected districts nationwide under the PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana for the month of July.
Posting in Hindi, Dr. Yadav declared: 'कृषि क्षेत्र में डिंडौरी जिले ने बनाया कीर्तिमान' — 'Dindori district has set a record in the agricultural sector.' The scheme ranks participating districts on the effectiveness of agricultural programme implementation, targeting productivity gains and farmer income support.
Kodo and Kutki: Dindori's millet edge
The Chief Minister pointed to three specific drivers behind the district's top ranking: the promotion of Kodo-Kutki millet cultivation, the expansion of natural farming practices, and the push for organic certification among farmers. These minor millets — hardy, drought-tolerant, and deeply embedded in the food traditions of Dindori's tribal communities — have become the engine of the district's agricultural identity. The momentum received a significant institutional boost when Dindori's Kodo-Kutki products received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, granting them legal protection and opening the door to premium branding in domestic and global markets. A GI tag does what years of marketing cannot: it anchors a product to its origin, making it irreplaceable.Millets, tribal belts, and a national policy push
Dindori's rise is not accidental — it sits at the intersection of several converging policy currents. India championed the United Nations' declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets, triggering a nationwide push to rehabilitate nutri-cereals as both a nutrition solution and a climate-resilient crop. Madhya Pradesh moved in step, scaling up natural and organic farming programmes in tribal districts after 2020, with dedicated certification support for smallholder farmers. The PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana's district-ranking mechanism is designed precisely to create this kind of competitive pressure — rewarding states and districts that translate central intent into ground-level results. Dindori's July 2026 rank-one finish is the measurable proof of that translation. For the tribal farmers who grow Kodo and Kutki on rain-fed land with minimal inputs, the combination of organic certification, GI protection, and a national ranking is more than symbolic — it is a direct pathway to better prices and wider markets. The next test is whether Dindori can hold the top spot and whether the state can build the value-addition infrastructure — processing, packaging, cold chains — that turns a GI tag into sustained farmer income.Point of View
The result is a dual political dividend — it validates the Centre's scheme design while spotlighting a tribal district, a constituency the party has actively courted. The GI tag for Kodo-Kutki adds a market-linkage dimension that could outlast any single ranking cycle, but the critical question is whether processing and value-chain infrastructure follows. Without it, a top rank and a GI tag remain upstream wins that don't fully reach the farmer's income.
NationPress
19 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana?
PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana is a central government scheme that selects districts across India and ranks them on the effectiveness of agricultural programme implementation, with the goal of boosting farm productivity and increasing farmer incomes.
Why did Dindori rank number 1 in the PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana?
Dindori ranked first for July 2026 due to its promotion of Kodo-Kutki millet cultivation, expansion of natural farming practices, and support for organic certification among tribal farmers, according to CM Dr. Mohan Yadav.
What is Kodo-Kutki and why is it important for Dindori?
Kodo and Kutki are minor millets traditionally grown by tribal communities in Dindori, a district in eastern Madhya Pradesh. They are drought-tolerant, nutritious crops that have received a GI tag, giving them legal protection and access to premium markets.
What does a GI tag mean for Dindori's Kodo-Kutki products?
A Geographical Indication (GI) tag legally links the product to its place of origin, enabling premium branding, protection from imitation, and better access to domestic and international markets for Dindori's tribal farmers.
What is Madhya Pradesh doing to promote natural farming in tribal areas?
Madhya Pradesh has been expanding natural and organic farming programmes in tribal districts since 2020, providing certification support to smallholder farmers and encouraging cultivation of indigenous crops like Kodo and Kutki.
