2023 is the International Year of Millets- FAO | 08 Dec 2018

India's proposal to observe an International Year of Millets in 2023 has been approved at the by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

• India is celebrating 2018 as the national year of millets.

Millets as Smart Food

• Millets are less expensive and nutritionally superior to wheat & rice owing to their high protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals like iron content.
• Millets are also rich in calcium and magnesium. For example, Ragi is known to have the highest calcium content among all the food grains.
• Millets can provide nutritional security and act as a shield against nutritional deficiency, especially among children and women. Its high iron content can fight high prevalence of anaemia in India women of reproductive age and infants.
• Millets are rich in antioxidants.
• Millets can help tackle lifestyle problems and health challenges such as obesity and diabetes as they are gluten-free and have a low glycemic index (a relative ranking of carbohydrate in foods according to how they affect blood glucose levels).

Millets as Smart Crop

• Millets are Photo-insensitive (do not require a specific photoperiod for flowering) & resilient to climate change.
• Millets can grow on poor soils with little or no external inputs.
• Millets are less water consuming and are capable of growing under drought conditions, under non-irrigated conditions even in very low rainfall regimes
• Millets have low carbon and water footprint (rice plant needs at least 3 times more water to grow in comparison to millets).
• Millets can withstand high temperature. In times of climate change Millets are often the last crop standing and, thus, are a good risk management strategy for resource-poor marginal farmers.

Way Forward

• Since India, which supports more than 15% of the world’s population, but only has 4% of its water resources, promotion of millets could be helpful.
• To efficiently feed the growing population, increase in the production of and demand for millets is need of the hour.
• Policy changes need to address infrastructure development in regions growing millets.
• Cultivation of several varieties of millets should be encouraged and practised.
• The government should include millets in Public Distribution System (PDS) and nutrition programmes.
  • For example, Odisha has planned to introduce millets in PDS, mid-day meal scheme (MDM) and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
• The government should incentivise farmers growing millets and practising mixed cropping, besides providing financial support for their processing, storage and marketing.
• Specific value addition practices, like grading, sorting, cleaning, processing and packaging should also be supported.