Biting the bullet on millets

Agriculture and food management | India stands at the forefront to promote millets through the International Year of Millets initiative. MSP for all mandated crops is fixed at 1.5 times of all India weighted average cost of production since 2018. Free food grains to about 81.4 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act for one year from January 1, 2023. About 11.3 crore farmers were covered under the Scheme in its April-July 2022-23 payment cycle. Organic Farming has being promoted through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY). (Image: Reuters)

India has been trying to ramp up production of millets and has robustly pushed for their cultivation and consumption in the world. So much so that the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to declare 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

But limiting the applicability of minimum support prices to just three varieties of millet crops is hampering output at home.

As per an agriculture ministry statement in 2022, India is a major producer of millets, accounting for 80 percent of Asia’s production and 20 percent of global production. However, the government’s farmer’s portal shows that MSPs are only being provided on three millets crops—jowar or sorghum, bajra or pearl millet and ragi or finger millet—-with no price guarantees for other produces in the category, which is affecting the cultivation of other millets.

“It is unfortunate that MSP is only being provided to three crops of millets, even as India has spent years trying to promote the growth of millets,” he said, adding that despite the MSP backing, many farmers do not consider growing them economically viable.

“If MSPs are raised and other crops are covered in it, productivity is bound to rise,” argued Sharma.

Millet production in India rose only about 25 percent in five years, from 14.52 million tonnes in 2015-16 to 17.96 million tonnes in 2020-21, as per the Ministry of Agriculture.

Reasons for low production

There are several on-ground problems that contribute to the low aggregate numbers on a national level despite government schemes and push.

For the kharif marketing season 2022-23, the MSP for jowar was declared at Rs 2,970 per quintal, and that for jowar maldandi (a hybrid variety at Rs 2,990 per quintal. The MSP for bajra and ragi were Rs 2,350 per quintal and Rs 3,578 per quintal, respectively. The MSP for rice, meanwhile, stood at Rs 2,040 per quintal for the common variety and Rs 2,060 per quintal for grade ‘A’, and Rs 2,125 per quintal for wheat. So on paper, millets seem to get a good buffer.

But according to Suman Hooda, head of the women's wing of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni group) in Haryana, “The MSPs are low and farmers here have to struggle to even get their crops sold at MSPs. When it is taken at MSP, it is only a limited amount of produce that is picked up. The schemes being implemented by the state or the Centre do not reach most of those actually involved in production of millet grains. There have also been several instances where cultivators using hybrid seeds supplied by the government saw widespread pest problems.”

Low procurement forces farmers to sell their produce in the open markets, where the rates are much lower, meaning that often even input costs are not covered.

“The government does not pick up much of the produce here. We generally just sell it in the open market and use the rest at our homes itself,” said Rakesh Pawara, who owns farms in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar.

However, he added that with the government’s push, open market prices have picked up. “The prices in open markets have almost doubled this year if we compare them with last year. We were selling jowar at Rs 18 per kg but sold it for Rs 30 per kg this year,” he said.

Millets as superfoods

The government has been taking up the programme on a big scale, involving several central ministries and government organisations to work towards promoting this “nutri-cereal”.

Calling millets ‘Shree Anna’ or the mother of grains, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said, “We are the largest producer and second largest exporter of ‘Shree Anna’ in the world. We grow several types of 'Shree Anna' such as jowar, ragi, bajra, kuttu, ramdana, kangni, kutki, kodo, cheena, and sama.”

She also said that the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad, will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.

According to agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, more than 66 startups have been given more than Rs 6.25 crore, while another 25 startups have been approved for further funding. “Government is providing support to startup entrepreneurs for recipes and value-added products to promote consumption of millet,” he said.

India has more than 500 startups working in the millet value-added chain, while Indian Institute of Millets Research has incubated 250 startups under RKVY-Raftar, a scheme to boost agricultural production.

Millets for sustainable farming

“A once-in-a-century pandemic followed by a conflict situation has shown that food security is still a concern for the planet. Climate change can also impact food availability. At such a time, a global movement related to millets is an important step, since they are easy to grow, climate resilient and drought resistant,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at the opening ceremony of the International Year of Millets at the headquarters of the Food and Agricultural Organisation in Rome on December 6, 2022.

“Millets are good for the consumer, cultivator and climate. They benefit cultivators and our environment since they need less water and are compatible with natural ways of farming. There is a need for diversity on the land and on our tables. If agriculture becomes monoculture, it impacts our health and the health of our lands. Millets are a good way to increase agricultural and dietary diversity,” he said.

Millets are high in nutrition and while also being climate-friendly crops.

“Farmers can grow millets at low and high altitudes and across a wide latitudinal range, on arid lands, under non-irrigated conditions, in very low rainfall regimes, and have a low water footprint. Most millets have a short growing season and can be grown well in areas where other crops fail to grow. They are very tolerant of heat (up to 45 degrees Celsius), drought and flood. They need minimal inputs, are resistant to diseases and pests and offer a reduced dependence on synthetic fertilisers and pesticides,” said Sanjay Gupta, MD and CEO, National Commodities Management Services Limited.

States take up millets program in mission mode

Currently, Rajasthan is the major hub of millet production, contributing 48.64 lakh tonnes or 39 percent of India’s millet share, as per data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. Karnataka ranks next with 23.99 lakh tonnes, followed by Uttar Pradesh (22.31 lakh tonnes).

According to Rajasthan’s principal agriculture secretary Dinesh Kumar, Rs 40 crore has been earmarked to establish 100 primary millet processing units, and a centre of excellence for millets is being set up in Jodhpur at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

Haryana, which ranks fourth in the country in terms of production of millets, in its budget announcements this year has allocated Rs 27 crore for millet cultivation.

Uttar Pradesh in its budget has set aside Rs 55.60 crore to the UP Millet Revival Programme.