National Conference on Millets on the theme ‘The Future Super Food for India'

Context

ASSOCHAM organized a “National Conference on Millets: The Future Super Food for India” recently.

About

Millets:

In India, millets have been mentioned in some of the oldest Yajurveda texts, thus indicating that millet consumption was very common, pre-dating to the Indian Bronze Age (4,500BC).

Millets are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for human food and as fodder.
Millets have come to be looked down upon by modern urban consumers as “coarse grains”.
Before Green Revolution, millets made up around 40 percent of all cultivated grains(contributing more than wheat and rice).
However, since the revolution, the production of rice has increased doubly and wheat production has tripled.
Millets are often referred to as Superfood and its production can be seen as an approach for sustainable agriculture and a healthy world.
It is grown in 131 countries. Millets traditional food for 59 crore people in Asia & Africa.
Millets are collective group of small seeded annual grasses that are grown as grain crops, primarily on marginal land in dry areas of temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions.

Importance:

Due to its high resistance against harsh conditions, millets are sustainable to the environment, to the farmer growing it, and provide cheap and high nutrient options for all.
Nearly 40 percent of the food produced in India is wasted every year.
Millets do not get destroyed easily, and some of the millets are good for consumption even after 10-12 years of growing, thus providing food security, and playing an important role in keeping a check on food wastage.
Millet is fibrous in content, has magnesium, Niacin (Vitamin B3), is gluten-free and has high protein content.
Anti-diabetes quality: Millets can also help tackle health challenges such as obesity, diabetes and lifestyle problems as they are gluten free, have a low glycemic index and are high in dietary fibre and antioxidants.
Millet ingestion helps in a slower release of glucose over a longer period of time; thus, due to low glycaemic index (GI), their habitual intake reduces the risk of diabetes mellitus.
More sustainable: Besides, millets help in reducing the atmospheric CO2 and thus contribute in mitigating the climate change.
On the contrary, paddy is a major contributor to climate change through methane emission (the green-house gas emanating from water-drenched rice fields).

Steps taken for promoting millets since 2018:

National Year for Millets 2018
“Sub Mission on Millets” under National Food Security Mission since 2018.
Several State launched mission on Millets.
Millets included under POSHAN MISSION Abhiyan by Ministry of Women & Child Development.
ICAR released one variety Quinoa (Him Shakti).
- Quinoa – A new crop: ICAR has been referred to suggest for declaring Nutri-cereals.
200 Start-ups supported through IIMR, Hyderabad.
67 Value added Technologies developed at Centre of Excellences.
Export of Millets increased from $ 24 million (2017) to $ 26 million (2020).
Release of 13 High Yielding varieties including 4 bio-fortified varieties of millets.

International Year of Millets (IYoM)-2023:

Government of India had proposed to United Nations for declaring 2023 as International Year of Millets (IYOM).
The proposal of India was supported by 72 countries and United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 as International Year of Millets in March, 2021.
Now, Government of India has decided to celebrate IYOM, 2023 to make it peoples’ movement so that the Indian millets, recipes, value added products are accepted globally.