Context - The International Year of Millets (2023) is over.
General growing conditions for Millets:
- Temperature: Generally, the Millets are grown in tropical as well as sub-tropical up to an altitude of 2,100m. It is a heat loving plant and for its germination the minimum temperature required is 8- 10°c. A mean temperature range of 26-29°c during the growth is best for proper development and good crop yield.
- Rainfall: Sorghum grows in 450 – 650 mm rainfall. Kodo Millet has a heavy water requirement which grows well in moderate rainfall of 50-60cm. Finger millet grows in 40-45cm rainfall.
- Soil : Millet has wide adaptability to different soil from very poor to very fertile and can tolerate a certain degree of alkalinity. The best soils are alluvial, loamy and sandy soil with good drainage.
- Topography: Kodo millet can be grown in gravelly and stony soil such as in the hilly region.
PROPERTIES AND ASSOCIATED BENEFITS
- Can withstand high Temperature and long period of drought.
- Poor soils and difficult terrain also support millet.
- Can grow in sub topical and tropical areas with low or seasonal rainfall thus can be easily grown in semi-arid areas lacking in irrigation.
- Millets are anti acidic; gluten free; Helps to prevent type 2 diabetes; Effective in reducing blood pressure; Reduces risk of gastrointestinal conditions like gastric ulcers or colon cancer; Eliminate problems like constipation, excess gas, bloating and cramping; Millet act as a probiotic feeding micro flora in our inner ecosystem.
- It will also be critical for climate change measures in drylands and important for smallholder and marginal farmers.
- Bioethanol can be created using sorghum (jowar) and pearl millet (bajra), and that this fuel could bring down carbon emissions by about half.
Distribution
- India (41%), Niger (11.5%) and China (7.5%) are the largest millet producers in the world, accounting for about 60% of global production in 2023.
- However, in recent years, millet production has increased dramatically in Africa.
- Major producers in India include Rajasthan, Maharashtra, U.P, Karnataka.
- India’s export of Millets is 64 million USD in the year 2021-22. There is an increase in export of Millets by 12.5 % during the period April-December 2023 as compared to the same period last year.
- Export of millets has witnessed a change in paradigm in the last decade. The major importing countries were USA, Australia, Japan, Belgium etc in 2011-12 which had been shifted to Nepal (USD 6.09 million), UAE (USD 4.84 million) and Saudi Arabia (USD 3.84 million) in 2021-22.
Why is India slow in adopting millet-based products?
- General perception is that the millets are increasingly seen as “poor person’s food”.
- Lower or near absence of production support when compared to the support enjoyed by other crops.
- Competition from other market friendly remunerative crops like rice and wheat.
- Changes in preference patterns in consumption moving away from them, mainly due to inclusion of only rice and wheat into the Public Distribution System (PDS)
- Lack of appropriate post-harvest processing technologies for small millets.
- Absence of public or private funded promotion of millets as a nutritious food category.
STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE NUTRI-CEREALS
- Additional areas should be brought under millets which will significantly increase the cropping intensity in dryland agriculture and contribute to higher output and farm revenues. Use post-kharif fallow lands with residual soil moisture in high rainfall regions like central and eastern Indian states.
- Special Agribusiness Zones (SABZ) for millets: Focus on development of particular millets which is popularly cultivated in the local areas. Examples: sorghum in Telangana, finger millet in Karnataka, pearl millet in Gujarat, and small millets in Madhya Pradesh. These SABZs can develop around FPOs, farm gate level primary processing facilities, ware housing units and value-added food products.
- Promoting Organic Millets to cater to increased demand of the consumers.
- MGNREGA funds can be used to develop common wastelands into cultivable lands, and an integrated and target oriented strategy may be drawn up for this purpose.
- Explore Trade opportunities: The export of Indian millets has not been up to the mark as compared to other cereal grains due to poor quality; farmers need to be educated about quality concerns at all stages of production and harvesting.
- Expanding the coverage of small millets under MSP as well as PDS.
- Promotion of Contract farming for millets.