Millets such as Jowar, Bajra, ragi etc. are dual purpose, nutrient dense, hardy and low input intensive crops that have potential to address malnutrition and climate change, while promoting sustainable agriculture.
In India, millets are grown on about 17 million ha with annual production of 18 million tonnes and contribute 10 percent to the country’s food grain basket.
Initiatives taken by Government to address above problems include- National Year of Millets (2018), NFSM-Coarse Cereals etc.
HEALTH BENEFITS
- Millets are actually three to five times more nutritious than rice and wheat in terms of proteins, minerals and vitamins. Millets are rich in B vitamins, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc, apart from being gluten-free, and low in glycaemic index (GI). These are more suitable for people with gluten allergies or high blood sugar levels.
- Reduction in Cholesterol, Sugar
- FAO has recognised importance of Millets for meeting SDGs- 2, 3, 12 and 13
CLIMATE RESILIENCE
- Abiotic (drought, temperature and salinity) and Biotic (pest and disease) stress tolerant
- Integral part of Conservation agriculture
- Climate change mitigation by carbon sequestration
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION SYSTEM
- 2.5 times lesser water requirement than rice
- Natural soil conditioner due to powerful root systems
- Multi-purpose: Food, Feed, Fodder, Biofuels and Brewing
- Potential to enhance income in rainfed areas
STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE NUTRI-CEREALS
- 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.
- 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.
- Federating millets farmers as Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)
- Expanding the coverage of small millets under MSP.
- Promotion of Contract farming for millets
Thus, we need to focus on supply side factors (incentive to farmers, high yielding crops) and demand side factors (value addition, labelling, awareness generation, inclusion under ICDS, MDM etc.) to ensure success of Millet Revolution.