The United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session in March 2021 declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). FAO is the lead agency for celebrating the Year in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders. Millets can grow on arid lands with minimal inputs and are resilient to changes in climate. They are therefore an ideal solution for countries to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported cereal grains.
#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. Their main objectives for celebrating this year are,

• To ensure the awareness about contribution of millet to food security and nutrition
• Improve sustainable production & quality of millet
• Enhanced investment in research & development
• Extension services to achieve the other two aims

The FAO Director-General QU Dongyu stated “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.

What is millet?

A collective term referring to several small-seeded annual grasses cultivated as a grain crop. Mainly cultivated in dry areas in temperate, subtropical & subtropical regions. Ragi (finger Millet), Jowar (Sorghum), Sama (Little Millet), Bajra (Pearl Millet), Kodo millet, and Foxtail millet are the different types of millet.

The origin of millet in India is from the Indus civilization & was one of the first plants domesticated for food. It is grown in about 131 countries and it is a traditional food for around 60 crore population of Asia and Africa. Rajasthan, UP, and Haryana contribute 81 per cent of the share of the total millet production of India. Rajasthan contributes to half of the total millet production in India. India is the largest producer of millet in the world with 20% global & 80% Asia production share.

Significance of Millets

Millets are nutritionally superior to wheat and rice as they contain high protein, fibre & minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, and B complex vitamins. Millets are also gluten-free and hence reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Most importantly, millet production is not dependent on the use of chemical fertilizers and it does not require a lot of irrigation, hence millet cultivation is less expensive. They are climate resilient as well. Millets help to reduce “hidden hunger” and act as a shield against nutritional deficiencies.

Initiatives taken by Government-

• Increase in Minimum Support Price (MSP): The government has hiked the Minimum Support Price of Millets, which came as a big price incentive for farmers.
• Further, to provide a steady market for the produce, the government has included millets in the public distribution system and focuses on enhancing domestic consumption.
• Input Support: The government has introduced the provision of seed kits and inputs to farmers, building value chains through Farmer Producer Organizations and supporting the marketability of millets.
• Preventing post-harvest losses and focusing on value addition of millets.

India’s millet trade:

India exported millet products worth USD 34.32 million during 2021-22. In 2020- 21, India exported millets worth USD 26.97 million against USD 28.5 million in 2019-20.

Conclusion-

 As millets can grow on and land with minimum input & are resilient to climate change, so can be an effective sol" for countries to increase Self-sufficiency & reduce reliance on imported cereal grains. According to the PM of India, International Year of Millets 2023 is a 'People's Movement' alongside Positioning India as the Global Hub for millets". So looking at the superiority of India at the global level in millets production and trade, the International Year of Millets 2023 will help to boost the Indian economy and power India to be self-sufficient in terms of food grain production.