INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF MILLETS
Context :
- On the initiative of India, UN has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
- Millets have been an integral part of our diet for centuries.
- The staple food of ancient India was millet.
WHAT ARE MILLETS ?
- Millet is a collective term used for number of small-seeded annual grasses that are cultivated as grain crops, primarily on marginal lands in dry areas in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions.
- Millets encompass a diverse group of cereals including Ragi(finger millet), Bajra(pearl millet), proso, foxtail, barnyard, little, kodo, browntop, finger and Guinea millets, fonio, sorghum (or great millet) and teff.
Different types of millets
- They are an important source of nourishment for millions of people in subSaharan Africa and Asia.
- They are deeply rooted in Indigenous Peoples’ culture and traditions and help guarantee food security in areas where they are culturally relevant.
GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF MILLETS:
- Millets are important crops in the semiarid tropics of Asia and Africa (especially in India, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger), with 97% of millet production in developing countries.
- In 2020, global production of millet was 30.5 million tonnes, led by INDIA with 41% of the world total. Niger also had significant production.
- India is the largest producer of millet in the world. It Accounts for 20 % of global production and 80% of Asia’s production.
- In recent years, millet production has increased dramatically in Africa.
BENEFITS OF MILLETS:
- Millets outscore wheat and rice in relation to nutritional value vis-a-vis minerals, vitamins, dietary fibre as well as amino acids.
- Millets are also rich in calcium and magnesium.
For example, Ragi is known to have the highest calcium content among all the food grains. - Due to its high iron content, it can fight high prevalence of anaemia in India women of reproductive age and infants.
- Millets are gluten-free and have a low glycemic index (glucose level) and therefore can help in tackling lifestyle problems and health challenges such as obesity and diabetes.
- They are also hard and drought-resistant crops as they can grow even on poor soils, hilly terrain and require just 70-100 days and lower water requirements.
- Millets are important by the virtue of its mammoth potential to generate livelihoods, increase farmers’ income and ensure food & nutritional security all over the world.
- They also have low carbon footprint:
- Most bio-ethanol in India is produced using sugar molasses and maize.
- However, a study conducted among farmers in Madhya Pradesh showed that bio-ethanol can be created using sorghum (jowar) and pearl millet (bajra), and that this fuel could bring down carbon emissions by about half.
INDIA and International Year Of Millets:
- The PM of India, Shri Narendra Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a ‘People’s Movement’ alongside positioning India as the ‘Global Hub for Millets’.
- The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has taken a proactive multi-stakeholder engagement approach to achieve the aim of IYM 2023 and taking Indian millets globally.
- Millet Fair-cum-exhibitions in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
- FSSAI will organize Eat Right Melas in Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu etc.
- Millets are also an integral part of the G-20 meetings and delegates will be given a true millet experience through tasting, meeting farmers and interactive sessions with start-ups and Food Processing Organisations.
- The states will be conducting millet centric activities including mahotsavs/melas and food festivals, training of farmers, awareness campaigns, workshops/seminars, placement of hoardings and distribution of promotional material at various key locations in the state, etc.
The government has also hiked the Minimum Support Price of Millets, which came as a big price incentive for farmers to cultivate millets.
ISSUES IN MILLETS ADOPTION:
- Millets are not the first choice of either consumer or farmer due to its low per acre productivity.
- They are termed as “ORPHAN CROPS”, as they are planted mostly in marginal irrigation-less areas.
- Lack of input subsidies and price incentives, and changing consumer preferences.
- They are dubbed as Poor Man’s food and animal fodder.
- Lack of food processing industries for millet products.
- Lack of demand among consumers, thus no proper market for millets.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
- Creation of an attractive value chain, agro-marketing and food processing industries of millet products.
- Grassroots workers like the Anganwadi and ASHA workers must be further involved as nutrition ambassadors and entrepreneurs in the millet revolution and to raise awareness among public.
- Under the ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign, indigenous crops must be lent more support and focus.
- Empower women farmers and self-help groups (SHG), by equipping them with advanced packaging techniques, agro-marketing, financial literacy and other entrepreneurial skills regarding millets agriculture.
- Schools should be utilised to promote millet products. Millets could be used in midday meals in place of other ready to eat foods.
- Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman and Saksham Anganwadi, POSHAN 2.0 can be better leveraged by making them more millets-focussed.
- Millets can play an important role and contribute to our collective efforts to empower smallholder farmers, achieve sustainable development, eliminate hunger, adapt to climate change, promote biodiversity, and transform agrifood systems.
#IYM2023 will be an opportunity to raise awareness of, and direct policy attention to the nutritional and health benefits of millets and their suitability for cultivation under adverse and changing climatic conditions.
The Year will also promote the sustainable production of millets, while highlighting their potential to provide new sustainable market opportunities for producers and consumers.
Syllabus- GS 3 Agriculture
