Kodo millet and kutki millet have the ability to grow on dry and marginal lands and at the same time produce grains superior in many nutrients to paddy and wheat. Yet, their cultivation, consumption and marketing remains underdeveloped compared to other cereals in India.
Millets
Bioversity International has been working with partners for 15 years in India to promote millet use and conservation.
Genetically diverse and adapted to a range of marginal growing conditions where grains such as wheat and rice are unsuccessful, millets mature quickly, are able to withstand climatic stress, and grow in a variety of soils. High in a range of micronutrients, including calcium, iron and dietary fiber, millets also offer a better balance of essential amino acids, and are therefore a more usable protein, than wheat, rice and maize.
Saving the most viable seeds of these crops suitable for each region has been a focus of the research. But this is not the limit of the focus. It’s on the entire value chain, starting with encouraging farmers to grow millets in their fields, introducing efficient methods of cultivation and harvesting, and incorporating enhanced nutrition into the communities.
Liberating women to entrepreneurs
The introduction of mechanical grain processing greatly reduced the drudgery for women processing millets, who have taken advantage of their liberation to develop novel food products and recipes. Watch the short video below to find out more.
Results
- India’s National Food Security Act incorporated millet into the public distribution system, and a farm diversity program promoting millet cultivation specifically targeted states with malnutrition.
- School children eating millet for lunch had up to 37% higher levels of haemoglobin over students eating white rice.
- Farmers and grain processors, particularly women’s groups, have seen crop yields increase by as much as 77%, with a corresponding increase in net income of up to 50%—profit from millet is approximately 30 rupees for every kg sold, where the poverty line in India is 32 rupees per day in rural areas and 47 rupees per day in urban areas.
- Access to improved varieties of millet account for improved production, with community seed banks established and growing.
- Increased markets for small-scale producers have seen restaurants adding millet-based dishes, and women producing millet-based snacks, which have led to increased consumption and demand.
Partners
CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), M.S. Swaminathan Foundation, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research, and Development (LI-BIRD), Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Action for Social Advancement (ASA), Gene Campaign
Publications
- Case study: Agricultural biodiversity and women’s empowerment: a successful story from Kolli Hills, India
- Minor Millets as a Central Element for Sustainably Enhanced Incomes, Empowerment, and Nutrition in Rural India
- Minor millets in south Asia learnings from IFAD-NUS Project in India and Nepal
- Integrated Approaches in Small Millets Conservation: A Case from Kolli Hills, India
- Empowerment of Women Farmers through Value Addition on Minor Millets Genetic Resources: A Case Study in Karnataka
- Mobilizing Neglected and Underutilized Crops to Strengthen Food Security and Alleviate Poverty in India
- Assessing the risk status of minor millets in the Kolli Hills, India
- Assessing farmer willingness to participate in minor millet conservation programmes and estimating conservation programme costs
News
Making millets matter in Madhya Pradesh
A decline in minor millet cultivation rings true across much of India. Yet a country wide revival of this cereal crop is in motion. Farmers are once...
BBC Radio 4 highlights why crop diversity matters for feeding India
BBC Radio 4's Food Programme this week interviews Bioversity International scientist Stefano Padulosi. He explains why bringing back 'forgotten'...
Agricultural biodiversity for “The Future We Want” – a close-up on indigenous perspectives
Indigenous peoples from around the world gathered in Shillong, in north-east India, for the second Indigenous Terra Madre, where agricultural...