A report by NITI Aayog states, “The area under cultivation of various millets in India is declining and the underlying reasons behind this are the lack of suitable initiatives to promote millets production along with rice and wheat and millets.” can be held responsible.” ,
Government think tank NITI Aayog released a report on 26 April titled Promoting Millets in the Diet: Best Practices in States and Union Territories of India. Millets which were once an integral part of the Indian diet have been almost forgotten due to various demand and supply challenges.
India produces all nine commonly known traditional millets. Sorghum, Millet, Finger Millet, Foxtail Millet, Proso Millet, Little Millet, Barnyard Millet, Brown Top Millet and Kodo Millet. Millets are also the safest crops for small farmers as they are resilient and acclimatised to both hot and dry environments.
Millets are nutritionally superior to other cereals due to their higher protein levels and more balanced amino acid profile. Millets also contain various phytochemicals that exert therapeutic properties due to their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties.
“The reasons for the decline can be attributed to the lack of suitable initiatives to promote millets production along with rice and wheat, and for millets,” said the NITI Aayog report.
“Despite the benefits of growing millets, over the years, Indian farmers have seen a slow but steady shift in their grain-growing preferences away from millets,” it further stated. Millet and ragi cultivation in India has almost halved nationwide since 1966,” it said, adding that thousands of hectares of land under millet production have been shifted to other crops.
NITI Aayog in its report also presented the area, production and crop yield data of some major millets during the period 2010-11 to 2020-21. The data shows that the area under cultivation (or acreage) for finger millet (ragi), small millet, pearl millet (bajra), and sorghum (jowar) declined from 19,055 hectares to 3,633 hectares in 2010-11. % CAGR. Their production declined from 19,996 tonnes to 18,020 tonnes, a CAGR of 10 per cent. However, the yield per hectare increased by more than 2% to 1,322 kg.
The report states, “The low margins associated with millet production compared to other crops have been discouraging for millet farmers. The relatively short shelf life of the crops raises concerns related to storage and the risk of spoilage ” Further, it said that non-availability of ready-to-eat millets along with changes in lifestyle and consumer tastes have contributed to reducing demand.
Considering the potential nutritional role of millets in public health, the central government declared millets as a nutri-cereal in 2018 and celebrated the National Year of Millets in 2018. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is chaired by the Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The resolution to declare the year 2023 as the International Millet Year and India’s proposal had the support of 72 countries.
India being the largest producer of millets and a proponent of the International Year of Millets-2023, the NITI Aayog report calls for India to use the leadership to revive millets and replicate the millet value chain in other countries. called upon to do. Emerging demand from global markets.
Recently, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has directed his agency National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to promote ‘International Millet Year 2023’ globally. Accordingly, NAFED has started extending marketing linkages to millet-focused startups. , Setting up of Bajra Corners in Nafed Bazaar retail stores, and setting up of Bajra Vending Machines in Delhi NCR.
Minister Tomar said all central ministries and state governments, including major food and beverage industries, both public and private, should pitch in. India organized its first mega-global event Global Millets (Shri Anna) Convention in Delhi to celebrate 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Millets (IYM).
UN’s initiative to declare 2023 as the International Year of Millets aims to raise awareness about millets for food security and nutrition, increase investment in R&D and extension, and improve production, productivity and quality of millets To motivate the stakeholders.
A Ministerial Roundtable on Millets was organized after the inaugural session of the Global Millets (Sri Anna) Conference in New Delhi in March. Ministers from Guyana, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname and Zambia; The meeting was attended by the Permanent Secretaries of Agriculture of The Gambia and Maldives and the Director General of the Millets Initiative.