India's Millet Metrics

Millets are being hailed as the answer to food and nutrition insecurity as well as climate concerns. With the UN announcing 2023 as the International Year of Millets, they are getting the long-due attention, but to realise their actual potential, they will need more

- Naina Gautam

I MAY BE SMALL BUT I AM STRONG I GROW WHERE OTHERS CANNOT...I NURTURE SOILS AND ECOSYSTEMS ...SO, BRING ME BACK TO YOUR TABLE I AM MILLETS.-FROM A VIDEO RELEASED BY THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO) TO MARK THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF MILLETS 2023

Millets once the quintessential diet of India before fading into near oblivion-are returning to the country's food landscape, as it looks to the tiny coarse cereals to build its food and nutritional security and help meet its environment protection goals. With their domestic as well as export potential, they have also become the latest player in India's growth story.

Nudged by India, the United Nations declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. In the budget 2023, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to make India a hub for millets-or shree anna, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls them. India is also utilising its G20 presidency this year to promote awareness about millets. In February, it presented the plan for Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness (MIIRA) at the first Agriculture Deputies Meeting under the Agriculture Working Group of G20 in Indore.

Hailed as "smart foods", millets are nutritionally rich with several health benefits, are climate-resilient and ecologically sustainable. Their nutritional value is higher than that of the more popularly consumed wheat and rice. The Market Intelligence Report for Millets by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) states that the rise in diseases like diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular ailments will prompt millet consumption as they are rich in proteins and minerals like calcium and iron that help deal with these diseases.