The return of the millets

Millets, the staple grains of the past, are re-emerging as nutri-cereals or smart foods today, thanks to their therapeutic traits and nutritional superiority compared to rice, wheat and corn. These small-seeded cereals, included in the category of coarse grains, are loaded with valuable nutrients that are vital to fight the lifestyle diseases of today. Besides, these are easy to grow and hardy crops with low requirement of water and other inputs and high resilience against pests, diseases and climate change-induced stresses. These are, therefore, ideally suited for cultivation by the resource-constrained small landholders in arid, semi-arid and drought-prone areas.

The major millets grown in India are sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra) and finger millet (ragi). These together account for about 80 per cent of the total production of coarse grains. The other millets are foxtail millet (kangni), little millet (kutki), barnyard millet (sanwa), browntop millet (chhoti kangni), proso millet (barri) and kodo millet (kodra). There are also some pseudo millets like buckwheat (kuttu) and amaranth (chulai or ramdana). Numerous other minor millets are also cultivated in Asia and Africa.

India is spearheading the campaign to promote the production and consumption of millets across the world mainly for two reasons. First, it was India which had moved and successfully piloted the resolution in the United Nations General Assembly in 2021 to declare 2023 as the International Year of the Millets. And second, India is the native home of several millets and is one of the largest producers of millets, accounting for over 40 per cent of the global output. Some millets are believed to have been domesticated in India thousands of years ago: They even find mention in the ancient Vedic literature. The Yajurveda, for instance, mentions foxtail millet as Priyangava, black finger millet as Shyam-makka and barnyard millet as Aanava.

These mini grains are claimed to offer many health benefits because of their richness of nutrients and functional compounds like dietary fibres, slow-digesting carbohydrates, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, B-complex vitamins and phyto-chemicals. Besides helping to fight various kinds of fungal, bacterial and viral infections, the millets, being free of gluten, serve as a viable alternative to wheat for those who suffer from gluten sensitivity. Moreover, these are non-acid forming, easy to digest and non-allergic foods with a high content of antioxidants which help develop immunity against several health disorders. These are specially recommended for individuals prone to diabetes, heart diseases

and cancer.

Millets constituted a major part of the daily diet of people, especially in the rural areas, till the advent of the green revolution and the launch of the public distribution system that supplied highly subsidised rice and wheat to replace them. The changes in the lifestyle and food habits also made people prefer “finer” (albeit less nutritious) grains like rice and wheat to the “primitive” but relatively wholesome coarse cereals. As a result, the share of millets in the overall food basket has dwindled from about 20 per cent in the pre-green revolution period to merely five to six per cent now.

The gradual erosion of demand and absence of market support from the government, too, contributed to a gradual decline in the cultivation of millets. The area under these coarse cereals is estimated to have shrunk to less than half of what it was prior to the green revolution. Interestingly, however, the average productivity of these crops has more than doubled. Significantly, millets are among the few crops where the average yield in India, around 1,239 kg per hectare, is higher than the global average of 1,229 kg. This is due largely to the evolution of high-yielding varieties and hybrids of various millet crops and improvement in agronomic practices.

The research and development initiatives on millets received the much-needed impetus after 2018, which was observed as the National Year of Millets. Over a dozen yield-enhanced varieties, including four bio-fortified hybrids (implanted with nutrient-enriching genes), have been released for commercial farming in this brief period. Also, technology for the commercial production of as many as 67 value-added products of millets has been developed and passed on to over 400 entrepreneurs, including start-ups and farmer producer organisations. Besides, a sub-mission on millets has been launched under the National Food Security Mission. This apart, millet dishes are also being served to school children under the mid-day meal scheme in some states and to other children and women belonging to the vulnerable sections of society under the government’s flagship nutrition programme, POSHAN Mission Abhiyan.

However, a significant fact that cannot be disregarded is that no amount of hype can fully restore the place the millets once enjoyed in traditional diets in the form of chapatis, idlis, dosas and other conventional cuisines made of wheat, rice or ragi. But their consumption can be increased by offering modern-style snacks and value-added products conforming to the contemporary tastes. The need, therefore, is to incentivise greater investment in the millets-based processed food manufacturing units.

surinder.sud@gmail.com