The United Nations declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. We witnessed a lot of promotional work during the year. Some corporates launched branded food products with millet as the main ingredient.

Unfortunately, the positive noise about millets substantially died down the following year. We do not hear much about millets these days despite the position that India is the world’s largest producer of a variety of millets.

It devolves on our country and our policymakers to promote millets as ‘superfood’, as they are nutritious and can play a significant role in advancing our nutrition security. It is known that our nutrition status leaves much to be desired.

Millet promotion needs an ecosystem approach, which involves a comprehensive or holistic approach to identify challenges and deliver end-to-end solutions – from input sourcing, cultivation, marketing, and processing to final consumption.

Millets lend themselves to multiple applications and uses. They are food, feed, forage, fuel and ferment. Not many crops lend themselves to such varied utility. A market exists for each one of the applications.

It is for this reason that millets deserve sustained policy support, research support and investment support.

It is critical that the production growth and the consumption growth move in tandem or in lockstep. Millet production should be substantially........

© Free Press Journal