Bill Gates says he's 'fascinated' by millets: 'Why aren’t they eaten everywhere?'

Bill Gates emphasised the importance of fonio millet and how the crop's ability to grow under different climatic conditions and ease of farming were huge positives for the crop.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently expressed fascination for millets and spoke about their importance in playing a role to eradicate issues such as malnutrition in different parts of the world.

Writing on his blog on Tuesday, Gates spoke how the crop had been experiencing a resurgence, both via consumers and farmers, and felt that with the increasing concerns about climate change globally, millets will gain greater significance in the coming years.

"Millets have been around for centuries, but they’re currently experiencing a resurgence—both for consumers who enjoy their taste and for farmers who appreciate how reliable they are to grow," Gates wrote in his blog.

"They can also help us fight malnutrition. When Europeans first arrived in West Africa, they called fonio "hungry rice" because it grew so quickly that you could eat it at times when other foods weren’t available. Today, many people would probably call it a "superfood" he added.

I’ve recently become fascinated by an ancient family of grains called millets. Here’s why: https://t.co/Pq7vtwIuH1 pic.twitter.com/1eRw9ShAH0

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) April 17, 2024

"Fonio, in particular, is like farming on easy mode. You wait until a good rain comes, lightly till the soil to loosen it up, and then scatter the seeds on the ground. Two months later, you harvest the grain," Gates wrote.

"As climate change continues to make growing seasons more unpredictable, crops like the millets will become more and more important," he said.

Gates also made a reference to ragi in his blog and spoke about the grain was a staple in countries such as India, Uganda and certain parts of Kenya and Tanzania.

"Fonio is just one part of a much bigger family of remarkable ancient grains: the millets. Perhaps you’ve heard of finger millet. It’s a staple in Uganda and parts of Kenya and Tanzania, and it’s beloved in India where it is called ragi. Or maybe you’ve heard of teff, a longtime favorite in Ethiopia where it’s used to make injera," he wrote.

This, however, is not the first instance where Gates has spoken about or used millets in his daily life. In March last year, he lent a hand in cooking millet khichdi with with Union Minister Smriti Irani, in a bid to promote  the cultivation and consumption of millets.

India have been consistently trying to increase millet production and pushed for their cultivation and consumption, globally.