Queens don’t need crown or throne to build their dynasty; they come in the simplest form to nurture and rule. And who better than Raimati Ghiuria fits the description. As the nation is observing Farmer’s day, here is the story of the queen of millets hailing from the hilly terrain of Odisha’s Koraput that is sure to inspire. 36-year-old Raimati belongs to the Bhumia Community of Koraput’s Nuaguda village. Owing to some personal issues, Raimati dropped out of school when she was in class 7th but was persistent in learning through observation and practical implementation. Despite getting married at the age of 16, she never lost her passion for farming and helped her family in agricultural activities. During a programme about empowerment of women farmers, Raimati first heard the term sustainable agriculture with reduced application chemical fertilizer. Now, Raimati herself prepares organic pesticides such as Handikhata, Neemastra, Agneyastra, Jeebamruta and organic fertilizers like Hadri, vermicompost and Amrutajal to ensure that her crops are completely organic. After learning about the scientific aspects of farming, Raimati under the guidance of Padma Shri Kamala Pujari joined MS Swaminathan Research Foundation that aims to promote strategy for economic growth of women farmers and scientific conservation method. Raimati learned about system of rice intensification, line transplantation, seed multiplication index etc through the foundation. While attending the recent G20 Summit, Raimati said that she has grown and preserved at least 72 traditional paddy varieties with 30 varieties of rare millet like Kundra Bati, Mandia, Jasra, Juana and Jamkoli. She has helped hundreds of women by running a firm that procures millet from local farmer and sells it in minimum support price. She is also actively training young girls to preserve the traditional millets in her farm school at her village. For her work, Raimati has been bestowed with the title ‘Millet Queen’ at the state level this year. She has also been awarded the Best Farmer Award by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Sunabeda in 2016, and the Best Farmer Award in the Traditional Food Festival which was conferred by TATA Steel, Nuamundi in 2018.