The magic of millets

Millets are small-seeded plants grown around drought-resistant farmlands.

- Dr Nithya Franklyn

They grow well in arid and semi-arid regions; hence, Africa and Asia have been the heart of millet cultivation. Millets are versatile both as a crop and as an ingredient. As a crop, they are sustainable, drought-resistant, pest-resistant, and have a short growth time. As an ingredient, there are multiple recipes that use various millets in various forms like flour and grain. This superfood has been a major part of the Indian diet since ancient times (almost 7,000 years), and there are multiple mentions of this foodgrain in the Vedas too.

In the 1960s, the Indian government started promoting high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat. Known as Project Green Revolution, it aimed at alleviating poverty and hunger by increasing the yield multiple times. So, easily grown cash crops were cultivated more, and millets started taking a backseat, leading to a loss of agricultural biodiversity.