Millets: India
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Contents |
Introduction
What are millets?
Millets are fundamentally grasses. They are cultivated worldwide, but especially in the tropical parts of Africa and Asia, as cereal crops. Some of the more common varieties include pearl millet ( Cenchrus americanus), barnyard millet ( Echinochloa utilis), finger millet ( Eleusine coracana), and foxtail millet ( Setaria italica).
There is both palaeontological and textual evidence to indicate that millets were being cultivated in the Indian subcontinent five millennia ago. According to the Agricultural and Processed Foods Development Authority, India is the world’s largest producer of millets. In 2021-2022, the country accounted for 40.51% of the world’s pearl millet production and 8.09% of sorghum. Within the country, pearl millet made up 60% of all the millet production, sorghum 27%, and ragi 11%.
Sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor), adlay millet ( Coix lacryma-jobi), and teff ( Eragrostis tef) – among others – are some grasses that differ in some respects from the millets but are grouped together with them.
Why are they sought after?
Millets have two broad features that render them attractive: their nutritional value being comparable to that of the major extant food crops (and better on some counts) and the ability of millet crops to reliably withstand harsh, resource-poor conditions.
They are drought-tolerant, adapted to growing in warm weather, and require low moisture (axiomatically, they are particularly efficient consumers of water) and loamy soil. They don’t grow well in water-logged or extremely dry soil, such as might occur after heavy rainfall or particularly bad droughts, respectively. Nonetheless, millets have the reliability upper hand over crops like rice and maize with more drought-like conditions expected in many parts of the world, including the newly realised prospect of ‘flash droughts’.
This said, millets don’t abhor better growing conditions, and respond positively to higher moisture and nutrient content in the soil.
According to the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, millets also “thrive on marginal land in upland and hilly regions”; marginal land is land whose rent is higher than the value of crops that can be cultivated there.
Are millets nutritious?
The nutritional content of millets includes carbohydrates, proteins, fibre, amino acids, and various minerals. Different millet varieties have different nutrient profiles. For example, pearl millet – one of the oldest cultivated varieties – has been found to have higher protein content than rice, maize, and sorghum, while being comparable to that of barley.
According to various studies, foxtail millet is rich in the amino acid lysine; finger millet has more crude fibre than wheat and rice; proso millet has a significant amount of the amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and methionine; and overall, millets have been found to be important sources of micronutrients and phytochemicals.
Where are the nutrients stored?
According to a paper published in 2021 in the journal Agriculture & Food Security, each millet kernel consists of three major parts, called pericarp, endosperm, and germ. The pericarp has an outer covering called the husk. The husk and the pericarp together protect the kernel from inhospitable ambient conditions, disease, and physical damage.
The endosperm is the largest part of the kernel and its ‘storage’ centre. It has a protein covering called the aleurone. According to an FAO article about sorghum, the endosperm is “relatively poor in mineral matter, ash and oil content” but “a major contributor to the kernel’s protein (80%), starch (94%) and B-complex vitamins (50-75%)”. Similarly, pearl millet has a relatively larger germ, which is “rich in oil (32%), protein (19%) and ash (10.4%),” plus “over 72% of the total mineral matter”.
A February 2022 study summarised the nutritive contents of millets, relative to rice, wheat, and maize, as follows:
This is why, according to various experts, millets deserve to be included in people’s diets. But whether they’re actually included depends on the availability of “delicious products to satisfy the taste, providing knowledge on nutritional and health facts on millets, and improving accessibility,” per a 2021 study.
How does processing affect the nutrients?
Processing and preparing millets for consumption can affect nutrients in three ways: enhance them, suppress/remove them, and ignore them. In this context, ‘whole grain’ refers to the endosperm, germ, and bran (pericarp + aleurone) whereas ‘refined grain’ refers only to the endosperm.
The husk is removed from the grains because it is composed of cellulosic matter that the human body can’t digest. But at least one study has found that when this is done to pearl millets, their phytic acid and polyphenol contents drop. (On the other hand, a paper published in 2021 found that millet husk could be briquetted and used as household fuel, and potentially alleviate energy poverty in north Nigeria.)
The second common step is to decorticate the grain, i.e. remove any other outer covering and expose the seed. While studies have found that mechanical and hand-worked decortication didn’t have significantly different effects on the grain, they both removed crude and dietary fibre. But decortication also makes the grain more edible and visually attractive – favourable factors in marketing in urban centres.
The typical next steps are milling, to grind the grains into flour, and sieving to remove large ‘impurities’, including bran. One 2012 study of finger millet found that whole-flour had a high content of “total polyphenols and flavonoids” – while sieving made the flour more digestible and its nutrients more accessible to the body but reduced nutrient content due to the loss of bran.
On the other hand, according to the February 2022 study, germination and fermentation – in which the grains are soaked in water for an extended duration – “showed a positive improvement in the overall nutritional characteristics of millets”.
What is the effect of polishing?
A frequent last step is polishing.
The longer the grains were milled, the more protein, fat, and fibre contents the process removed. A different 2012 study found that barnyard millet could be polished with a rice polisher for up to three minutes without significant nutrient loss. Polishing is the process whereby brown rice, for example, is changed to white rice by rubbing off the bran and the germ.
A 2012 study in the Journal of Cereal Science assessed the effects of polishing the two major Asian rice varieties – indica and japonica – on their nutritive value. Using a combination of precision abrasive polishing, plasma mass spectrometry, and fluorescence microscopy, they found that polishing that removed 8-10% of grain weight also removed 60-80% of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese in both varieties. The loss of bran also compromised the grains’ fibre content.
Yet rice polishing is considered desirable because, per a 2009 study, most consumers favour the resulting taste and texture and prefer the shorter cooking time; and retailers want longer shelf-life, which can be achieved by removing the bran.
Millets are fundamentally grasses. They are cultivated worldwide, but especially in the tropical parts of Africa and Asia, as cereal crops.
Millets are drought-tolerant, adapted to growing in warm weather, and require low moisture (axiomatically, they are particularly efficient consumers of water) and loamy soil. The nutritional content of millets includes carbohydrates, proteins, fibre, amino acids, and various minerals.
Millets in Indian cinema
Hindi- Urdu cinema, 1940-2001
Avijit Ghosh, May 4, 2023: The Times of India
In the ongoing International Year of Millets, the Union government is promoting the consumption of these grains. Here’s a look at how the dryland cereals, especially jowar (sorghum) and bajra (pearl millet), have been part of popular Hindi cinema’s songs, dialogues and landscape for over eight decades:
Aurat (1940)
Several scenes and songs in Mehboob Khan’s hinterland drama of poverty and resilience are set amid sprawling fields of jowar. The ripe and ready crop forms the backdrop of music director Anil Biswas’s compositions, such as ‘Bol bol tu bolre, man ke panchhi bol’. Tillers also reap and chant, ‘Morey angna laga ambwa ke ped,’ as they harvest the produce.
Mother India (1957)
Early in Mehboob Khan’s epic tale of rural India, a remake of Aurat, the lead characters Radha (Nargis) and her husband Shamu (Raaj Kumar) sing ‘Matwala jiya’ with fellow farmers in the fecund jowar fields. Later, Nargis and her children toil in the same fields lamenting, ‘Duniya mein hum aaye hai’. Deeper into the movie, Nargis and her two grown-up sons harvest the grain and joyfully sing, ‘Dukh bhare din beete re bhaiya’.
In one of the film’s most intense scenes, the village moneylender Sukhi Lala (Kanhaiya Lal) approaches Radha’s angry young son Birju (Sunil Dutt) lying on a mound of freshly-threshed and winnowed jowar.
Lala says, “Zara hat ja. Yeh mere hisse ki jawari hai (move aside, this is my share of jowar). ” Birju replies, “Pehle hisaab dikhana. Phir mere jawari par nazar dalna (first show me the books, then think about my share). ”
The face-off flares into a heated exchange and almost turns violent before Birju is forced away. In the climax, Birju burns the books.
Teen Devian (1965)
Dev Anand and Nanda frolic, eat corn and sing love – ‘Likha hai teri aankhon mein’ – in the open and wide fields of bajra.
Roti, Kapda aur Makaan (1974)
Anti-national black marketeers are the main bad boys in Manoj Kumar’s blockbuster. At one point, the profiteers gather and talk about hoarding ghee, rice, oil, wheat, as well as jowar and bajra, and then selling them at inflated prices.
Sholay (1975)
Three dacoits led by Kalia (Viju Khote) drop by to claim what they believe is their share. One of the villagers brings a sackful of grains. “Aao, aao, Shankar. Kya laaye ho,” asks Kalia. “Malik, jowar laya hoon. ” Shankar is immediately abused and humiliated for not bringing enough grain.
Lagaan (2001)
At the very beginning, Amitabh Bachhan’s voiceover tells you the tax that the British receive includes gehoon (wheat), chawal (rice) and bajra (pearl millet). The film is located in a rain-shadow area. Bajra is a more likely crop in such parts.
Millet Country
India is the world’s largest producer of millets. As per Union agricultural ministry estimates, the country will produce 16 million tonnes of millets in 2022-23. About 98% will be bajra (pearl millet), jowar (sorghum) and ragi (finger millet). The rest will be small millets. Ignored for decades, the dryland grains are being hailed as a nutritious smart food. In recent months, both PM Narendra Modi and Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman have strongly engaged in millet advocacy. Sitharaman described millets as “shree anna”, the mother of all grains, in her Budget speech. The government is also pushing for the introduction of the cereals in state-run canteens. Even the army, reports said, aims to reintroduce millets for soldier’s rations.
Nutritional value
Summary: February 2022
From: May 16, 2023: The Hindu
See graphic:
Nutritive contents of millets, relative to rice, wheat, and maize, 2022
Preserving indigenous seeds
Raikode, Zaheerabad, 2024: 80 varieties heirloom seeds
Amrita Didyala, Sep 12, 2024: The Times of India
From: Amrita Didyala, Sep 12, 2024: The Times of India
Raikode/Zaheerabad : A group of tribal women gathered at a house at Humnapur village in Telangana’s Raikode mandal were marvelling at a handful of seeds preserved from the previous cultivation season as if those were their most prized possessions. Preserved six months back in special pots layered with cow dung, ash and neem leaves, what makes these seeds special is that these are the exact variety and gene of seeds that their ancestors had cultivated and consumed for centuries.
Native to India’s Deccan region, the approximately 80 varieties of indigenous seeds — primarily millets — have been preserved by this community of over 5,000 Dalit and tribal women from 50 villages in the state’s Zaheerabad region for years, the knowledge passed down from one generation to the next. While the men help with cultivation — ploughing, tilling and harvesting — the preservation of seeds is completely the women’s domain. Most of the produce from these seeds is consumed locally but, since 1999, the community has been marketing five varieties of these indigenous millets, pulses and oilseeds, finding some semblance of financial stability in an area previously notorious for farmers’ suicides.
The organisation and utilisation of their knowledge for economic benefit gained steam with the setting up in 1983 of the NGO Deccan Development Society (DDS), which seeks to empower these women. A seed bank was established in 1996. Currently, each farmer uses 15-20 varieties of these indigenous seeds for cultivation and, during harvest, a part of the seeds is preserved for the next season. A Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), which works in coordination with DDS, provides scientific and technical knowledge to farmers to sustain their crops in different climatic conditions.
“With the setting up of the seed bank and by organising women into sangams (groups/committees), we were able to encourage each farmer to maintain a healthy biodiversity by rotating at least 20 varieties in their fields. This way, the unique seeds are available to all farmers who want to grow them,” says A Giridhar Babu, deputy director, DDS. A community radio station helps them share their knowledge and stay connected.
Farmers sell their produce to DDS (at a rate 10% above market price), which is then marketed and sold in places like Zaheerabad, Sangareddy and Hyderabad. Some of the millets are also processed into snacks and sold. A millet restaurant started by DDS in Zaheerabad is entirely run by women who cook and serve millet-based thalis. Locals point out that DDS’s push for millet cultivation here predates the push by the Centre for its cultivation. The women also say they can identify at least 50 local leafy greens from among the weeds and uncultivated plants that grow by the roadside, in open spaces and in their fields. These are collected and cooked into curries or mixed with other vegetable preparations.
Nagmaniamma, a resident of Pastapur village, was foraging for Chennangikura (an uncultivated green) in her farmland when TOI caught up with her. She swears by the chutney and curries made from this leaf. These uncultivated greens — considered weed by farmers in most parts of the country and removed — also have medicinal properties, say locals. In fact, the weeds are said to have sustained entire villages during famines in the past and this is how they became an increasingly prominent part of their food.
An ‘uncultivated greens festival’ held by DDS every year sees visitors — many from Hyderabad — gathering to taste the delicacies prepared with these foraged greens.
Seed Sisters
While all the women in Humnapur village are engaged in seed preservation, 58-year-old Begari Laxmamma has earned the moniker “seed sav- iour” because she owns the biggest horde of about 80 seed variants. Since being identified by DDS as part of its women’s empowerment programme, she has travelled to over 20 countries to show her seed collection and talk about it.
“My mother preserved over 100 varieties [of seeds], my grandmother had even more,” she says. In her 1.5-acre land, she rotates these indigenous crops and maintains a variety of 15-20 crops each season (sowing happens twice a year). According to locals, no one in these villages had tasted rice until the public distribution system was introduced by the Centre in the 1970s.
At the Sangam radio station in Machnoor village, Algul Narsamma was recording an advisory on issues faced by tribal farmers who had cultivated cowpea in the previous season. She comes to the station after attending to her farmlands and spends the rest of the day there. Narsamma juggles multiple roles at the radio station — producer, director and manager — and ensures that the programmes are broadcast to those within a 15-km radius of the station. “We also have interactive sessions every evening where we answer letters or messages sent by our listeners,” she says.
And that is how, for these women, the day revolves around the preservation, cultivation, collection and sharing of knowledge of their grains and greens. The women of Telangana’s Zaheerabad region are a bright example of blending modern technology and communication to market traditional knowledge and produce to create a better future for themselves and their families.
2023: ‘International Year of Millet’
In brief
The year 2023 has been declared as the ‘International Year of Millet’ by the United Nations following India’s proposal. Why is India pushing the world to bring these nutri-cereals back to the dining table?
The Centre kicked off the International Year of Millets, announcing a host of activities across the country to promote the cultivation and consumption of the ‘nutri-cereal’. Central ministries, State governments and Indian embassies will hold events throughout the year to promote and spread awareness about the benefits of millets for the “cultivator, consumer and climate”. A government release has said millets will also be an integral part of G-20 meetings. India assumed the Presidency of the G-20 summit in December.
Millets are part of a group of small-grained cereal crops used as both food and fodder. According to the book “ Millet in your meals”, about 6,000 varieties of these grains with varying colours exist around the world. Experts believe them to be one of the oldest foods known to humans and the first among cereals to be cultivated for domestic purposes. There is even evidence of the consumption of millet in the Indus Valley civilisation. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon apparently included millet among their treasured plants.
Millets were earlier referred to as “coarse cereals” or “cereals of the poor”. The Union government renamed these as “nutri-cereals” owing to their high nutritional value. Millets offer more than one nutrient to the diet and are considered more nutritious than rice and wheat. Millets are rich in iron, dietary fibre, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, folic acid, and niacin. These grains contain 7-12% protein, 2-5% fat, 65-75% carbohydrates and 15-20% dietary fibre. Millets are also gluten-free.
Growing millets is also beneficial for farmers since this rain-fed crop requires less fertile land and water,, growing fairly well on dry land. They have a short growing season as compared to other major crops and can be grown in intercropping or under mixed cropping with pulses and oil seeds. With a low carbon and water footprint, millet crops can be cultivated without extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides and can survive extreme weather. Presently, millets are grown in more than 130 countries and consumed as a traditional food by over half a billion people across Asia and Africa.
India is the largest producer of millet in the world with a share of 41% in 2020, as per FAO. Nine types are grown as kharif crops in over 20 States in the country. Major millets include finger millet (ragi or mandua), pearl millet (bajra) and sorghum (jowar) and minor millets include foxtail millet (kangani or kakun), barnyard millet (sawa or sanwa, jhangora), little millet (kutki), kodo millet (kodon), proso millet (cheena) and browntop millet. Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are leading producers.
Though productivity has increased over the years, the area under cultivation of millets declined, especially after the Green Revolution, with a policy thrust on other grains. This gradually impacted the expansion of millets production in the country. In 2019, India accounted for 80% of the total production of these grains in Asia and 20% globally — around 170 lakh tonnes from138 lakh hectares of land, providing yield per hectare greater than the global average, FAO data shows. India is also among the top five exporters— India exported millets worth $64.28 million in 2021-22 and $59.75 million in 2020-21, according to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.
Despite offering high benefits to both the consumer and producer, millets are not very popular mainly due to a lack of awareness. But at a time when the world is battling a pandemic and climate change, and faces a significant challenge of food security, the nutri-cereal can play a significant role if marketed well, focusing on their high nutritional value, low input and maintenance requirements and climate-resilient nature. Problems of unavailability of good quality seeds, restricted cultivation, the low shelf life of grains, lack of research, absence of machinery for processing and market gaps also need to be addressed to tap into their true potential to increase farmers’ income, generate livelihoods and ensure food and nutritional security.
The global push
An ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, climate change, and trade restrictions among other factors have jeopardised global food security. As per the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, the world is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. Faced with the growing challenge of food and nutritional security, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 the International Year of Millets to spread awareness about millets — a more affordable, sustainable, and nutritious alternative. The resolution was unanimously adopted by the UNGA in March 2021 after India proposed the initiative.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has termed the initiative as an opportunity to “raise awareness and direct policy attention to the nutritional benefits of millets and their suitability for cultivation”.
Last month, the FAO launched the IYM in Italy and highlighted that the promotion of millets aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — zero hunger, good health and well-being, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, climate action and life on land. “Millets are incredible ancestral crops with high nutritional value. 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 agri-food systems,” said FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu
Following the launch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his gratitude to co-sponsors. He said India was honoured to be at the forefront of the initiative. “…consumption of millets furthers nutrition, food security and welfare of farmers, offers research and innovation opportunities for agriculture scientists and start-up communities, the PM added.
India’s efforts to promote millet
The Union government promoted millets under the Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion (INSIMP), as a sub-scheme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) between 2011 and 2014. In the following years, NITI Aayog worked on a framework to introduce millets under the public distribution system for “nutritional support”.
The Union government declared 2018 as the ‘national year of millets’ to trigger an increase in demand. In the same year, these grains were officially rebranded as a nutri-cereal. The programme under INSIMP was merged with the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) as NFSM-Coarse Cereals and implemented in 14 States. Several States led separate missions to promote millets. In 2021, the Centre approved the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN), earlier known as the mid-day meal scheme, in government and government-aided schools and advised State governments to include millets in the midday meal menu to enhance the nutritional outcome.
India’s efforts to promote the consumption and production of millet got a boost when the UNGA accepted the country’s proposal and dedicated 2023 to spreading awareness about these grains. “The declaration has been instrumental for the Government of India to be at the forefront in celebrating the IYM,” the agriculture ministry said in a statement and reiterated the PM’s vision to make IYM 2023 a ‘people’s movement’ and positioning India as the ‘global hub for millets’.
As per a government release, Union Ministries, States and Indian embassies have been allocated a ‘focused month’ each in 2023 to promote the humble millet. The Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, as well as the Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan governments will conduct events and activities for IYM in January. The Sports Ministry will carry out 15 activities over 15 days in January and engage sportspersons, nutritionists and fitness experts to talk about millets.
Central ministries, State governments and Indian embassies will hold events throughout the year to promote and spread awareness about the benefits of millets for the “cultivator, consumer and climate.”
Millets are part of a group of small-grained cereal crops used as both food and fodder. Millets were earlier referred to as “coarse cereals” or “cereals of the poor”. The Union government renamed these as “nutri-cereals” owing to their high nutritional value.
India is the largest producer of millet in the world with a share of 41% in 2020, as per FAO.
The Union government declared 2018 as the ‘national year of millets’ to trigger an increase in demand.
India’s efforts to promote the consumption and production of millet got a boost when the UNGA accepted the country’s proposal and dedicated 2023 to spreading awareness about these grains.
