The International Year of Millets achieved in placing millets on the policy and media agenda, but the rebranding has primarily been a rhetorical endeavour. Changes to minimum support prices did not ensure stable incomes for farmers and public procurement addressed only a minimal portion of millet production, heavily concentrated in select states. The outcome is a split millet economy—urban high-value markets compared to underpaid smallholders—necessitating decentralised sourcing, enhanced farmer cooperation/processing, and financial administrative alignment to turn promises into sustainable livelihoods. 

In 2023, India placed an unlikely grain at the centre of global attention. The United Nations International Year of Millets, led by the Government of India, projected millets—or “Shree Anna”—as the country’s answer to intertwined crises of climate change, nutrition, and farm distress. Posters, conferences, and export exhibitions celebrated millets as “superfoods” that could make Indian agriculture both sustainable and profitable. For a brief moment, the coarse cereals of rain-fed India—long dismissed as “poor people’s food”—acquired a glossy international identity.

However, beneath this joyful story exists a troubling inquiry: Did the Interna­tional Year of Millets change the lives of those who cultivate them? Although it effectively shifted the narrative around millets in public discussions, the fundamental production and market frameworks influencing farmer earnings exhi­bited minimal signs of modification. For many small-scale farmers in dry regions like Marathwada, Bundelkhand, or Rayalaseema, the solution is still unclear. 

The government’s policy initiative was undeniably striking in theory, with the minimum support prices (MSPs) for key millets—jowar, bajra, and ragi—raised. Procurement centres were established in new districts, and initiatives like the National Food Security Mission–Coarse Cereals (NFSM-CC) and state-level “millet missions” saw enhancements. On the consumer front, integration into the public distribution system (PDS) and mid-day meal programmes was announced, along with export promotions to highlight “Shree Anna” internationally. 

Nonetheless, the actual economy con­veyed a significantly different narrative. Even with the strong focus on millets, farmers’ price realisation stayed significantly lower than the declared MSPs, procurement mainly occurred in Karnataka and Odisha, and consumption habits exhibited minimal noticeable change. Official reports and independent field evaluations suggest that market trades for essential millets like jowar and ragi generally took place 15%–25% lower than their respective MSPs throughout the 2022–23 marketing season (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare 2023; NABARD 2023). For example, although the MSP for jowar was established at ₹3,180 per quintal and for ragi at ₹3,446 per quintal, the prices achieved in various producing areas of Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh were significantly lower due to restricted procurement access and poor market integration. 

At the national level, under public schemes, less than 1% of total millet production was procured, whereas more than one-third of rice and wheat is regularly absorbed via the PDS (MoCAF&PD 2024; FCI 2023). These numbers highlight an ongoing gap between symbolic policy emphasis and meaningful institutional change. This article contends that “millet revival” has primarily been a rhetorical endeavour—a marketing strategy rather than a genuine structural reform. India’s policy framework still favours rice and wheat via procurement, subsidies, and consumer benefits, relegating millets to the periphery, despite their ecological and nutritional benefits. 

The examination unfolds in three sections. The initial analysis sets a foundation for discussing the position of millets in India’s cereal economy and outlines the immediate effects of the Inter­national Year of Millets initiative. The second analyses procurement and federal discrepancies, investigating why only a limited number of states transformed the symbolic momentum into tangible results. The concluding part addresses market dynamics and value chains, emphasising how involvement from the private sector and urban premiumisation has intensified the gap between producers and consumers.

To shift millets from symbolic margins to the core of livelihoods, India will require a fresh approach to decentralised procurement, fair value chains, and social consumption—not merely a rephrasing of branding terminology.

Baseline and Key Quantitative Evidence

Millets hold a significant yet inconsistent role in India’s cereal economy. Prior to the International Year of Millets in 2023, millets were cultivated on approximately 15 million hectares—only about one-fifth of the land used for rice and wheat—and produced around 20 million tonnes, representing about 5%–6% of the overall foodgrain production (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare 2023; FAO 2023). Among these, bajra (pearl millet) leads in production with close to half the total output, trailed by jowar (sorghum) and ragi (finger millet) (MSSRF 2022).  In key-producing states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Odisha, typical farmgate or mandi prices for jowar were between ₹2,400 and ₹2,600 per quintal, ragi was priced at approximately ₹2,700, and bajra sold for about ₹2,100. These numbers, con­sistently under the corresponding MSPs, indicate structural inefficiencies in price transmission and access to procurement. The pattern indicates a continual gap between government-set support prices and actual market outcomes, especially in regions with poor procurement support, restricted institutional engagement, and insufficient storage and processing facilities (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare 2023; NABARD 2023; IFPRI 2023; FAO and MSSRF 2023).

Procurement data shows an even clearer imbalance. During 2022–23, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) acquired approximately 57 million tonnes of rice and 34 million tonnes of wheat—about one-third of their total yield—while millets constituted less than 0.5 million tonnes, or below 1% of the overall production (FCI 2023; MoCAF&PD 2024). In this limited procurement volume, Karnataka represented more than 60%,........

© EPW