India Aiming to Become the Hub of Millet Production

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Nitin Konde, Apoorva Bajj

Feb 28, 2024 — 5 min read

India Aiming to Become the Hub of Millet Production

Recently, the 46th session of the Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC), an international body established by the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations with 188 member nations, was held in Rome, Italy, and during that session, the CAC commended India's Standards on Millets and accepted the country's proposal to create global standards for millets. The international meeting was a great success for India's newly drafted group standard for fifteen different types of millets, which details eight quality characteristics. Sorghum and pearl millet both have standards in Codex at the moment.

Just like with pulses, India has proposed creating international standards for millets, with a focus on the following varieties: Finger millet, Barnyard millet, Kodo millet, Proso millet, and Little millet. Attendees from 161 member nations, including the EU, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposal at the conference held at FAO Headquarters in Rome.

In the past, millets were widely consumed in rural regions as a main source of nutrition in India. This was due to their high nutrient density, ease of cultivation, low water requirements, and lack of pesticide and insecticide use. But then the green revolution hit the nation in 1966 and 1967, and the government and many businesses began actively pushing it. But the present administration sees the promise in millets, and they are marketing them as a miracle crop that would end the global hunger and malnutrition problem.

India’s Campaign to Increase Millets’ Popularity Around the World
Next-Gen Solution
Roadblocks Hampering the Growth

India’s Campaign to Increase Millets’ Popularity Around the World

More than 102 nations sent representatives to a two-day conference on millets that India hosted in March 2023 when it was the G-20 president. The event took place in New Delhi. Topics covered during the international conference honoring the IYM 2023 included research and development, nutritional advantages, value chain development, market connections, and production and consumption of millets.

In 2023, India accounted for 20% of the world's millet production and produced 80% of it in Asia, according to the Economic Survey of India.

The worldwide average millet yield is 1229 kg/ha, while India's average production is 1239 kg/ha. Worldwide, India ranks first for millet production and second for exports. A variety of millets, such as Jowar, Raagi, Bajra, Ramdana, Cheena, and Saama, are cultivated in India. With a particular emphasis on millets, the Union Budget 2023–24 promised to transform the Indian Institute of Millet Research in Hyderabad into a world-class center for exchanging knowledge, expertise, and cutting-edge research to establish India as a leading center for millet research. Growing these healthy millets is an important part of small farmers' roles in improving the health of the Indian population, which was recognized in the Union Budget 2023-24.

With the start of the International Year of Millets and Other Ancient Grains (2023), India has joined the ranks of other countries actively participating in the IYM initiatives. India's G-20 Presidency and the FAO's global activities on millets at the IYM 2023 have helped bring together nations, research institutes, and civil society organizations to work towards the goal of zero hunger, which is the second Sustainable Development Goal set by the United Nations.

Millet Production Across India in Financial Year 2022, by State

Next-Gen Solution

Over the last 30 years, the United Nations has seen a disturbing increase in the frequency of severe weather events. According to scientists, these disasters have been made much worse by climate change. Sea levels are rising due to the fast melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods are becoming more common. In addition, marine heatwaves have been caused by the warming of our oceans, and the Arctic Sea has seen a considerable decrease in ice covering. The consequences of climate change are already being felt by people, especially in terms of food insecurity. An extra 100 million people might fall into poverty by 2030, according to the World Bank's climate change predictions. These figures show how urgent it is to try to lessen the impact of climate change on the food supply.

In this context, millets, which are well-known to address issues of food insecurity, agriculture, and the environment, take on a greater significance. Global experts now support the sustainable development and use of these nutri grains as a realistic solution to mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure a reliable supply of healthy food. As people throughout the world start to realize how bad climate change is, millet is rising in popularity as a possible crop for the future. With a shorter growth cycle than wheat and a water requirement 70% lower than rice, millets offer a complete solution to the issues brought about by climate change. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), millets offer several benefits that other, more often consumed cereals do not.

Roadblocks Hampering the Growth

According to ICRISAT, an organization jointly formed through an MoU between the Government of India and the CGIAR, By implementing interventions on the supply and demand sides, taking both the short and long term into account, one must ensure that millet production remains economically viable for farmers. It is important to keep the national food security factor in mind while crafting policies to increase millet production.

From 18 million metric tonnes in 2018 to 45 million metric tonnes in 2030, that is the yearly production target set by the government for millets. Compared to rice, millet now has a significantly lower average productivity of only 1 to 1.5 t/ha. Therefore, the country's food security could be jeopardized if there was an attempt to convert rice-growing land to millets without first identifying which areas to target.

Moreover, according to Tapas Chandra Roy, a certified Farm Advisor on millet, millet processors in India face a problem with the grain recovery rates of the machinery they use, which are just 70 to 80%. There are more broken and unhulled grains in the final product because of the decreased efficiency. The efficiency of dehulling millets is influenced by the speed of the impeller. You are aware that millet grains vary in size, shape, and husk content, which makes them challenging to work with. It takes two different kinds of dehullers to properly dehusk all kinds of millets; using just one won't cut it. A double-stage dehuller is necessary for the removal of the husk from Kodo and Barnyard Millet due to the many seed coatings that these varieties feature.

Millets' husks are notoriously difficult to collect and separate from the processing unit's effluent, which frequently ends up blended in with the finished product. Processing and disposing of millet husks is a challenge for many millet processors. An answer might be possible if value-added items could be made from millet husks.

Making certain items with only millet ingredients becomes quite challenging due to millet's complete absence of gluten. Improving nutrient availability while decreasing anti-nutritional components still needs additional study and development.