Relevance: mains: G.S paper III: issues of buffer stocks and food security;
Diversifying our food basket to improve nutrition is a topic that has been part of mainstream discourse for a while now. Our current food practices which are focused on consuming only a few crops are a result of agricultural policies that were biased towards a limited number of high yielding varieties. Though this has helped us attain food security in the country, we still fall short of attaining nutritional security as almost a third of Indians suffer from the incidence of malnutrition. In this context Government of India has identified millets as a vital addition to the food basket to tackle malnutrition. A ₹600 crore scheme, which will span over 2 years, has been launched by the Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare to promote millets as ‘nutri-cereals’. A Committee was also constituted in NITI Aayog, under the Chairmanship of Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member (Agriculture), to recommend strategies to increase millet availability to ensure nutritional security. The Committee’s report titled, “Improving Nutrition through Promotion of Millets under Public Distribution System” has been recently submitted to the Government for consideration which looks into the scope of millets in India.
So, what are millets?
Millets are small seeded grasses which grow in a wide range of topographies and climates. They require minimum irrigation and fertilizer inputs and have high genetic diversity. Their growing seasons are relatively short which span between 3 to 4 months. They are harvested for their seeds, consumed as coarse cereals, which contain high nutrient content such as iron, calcium, phytate, etc.
These crops are known to be one of the oldest cereals consumed by humans, pre-dating rice and wheat. However, over a period of time, the popularity of millets somewhat declined and they started being dubbed as ‘poor man’s diet’. The Government policies in terms of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and procurement have had preference towards rice and wheat, which resulted in declining or stagnating production of millets in recent years. Notwithstanding these constraints, India continues to be the largest millet producer in the world.
The three major millet crops grown in India are sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra) and finger millet (ragi). Species of minor millets include foxtail (korra), kodo (arke), little (sama), proso (chenna) and barnyard (sanwa).
How can millets be effectively distributed to those who need it the most?
The Public Distribution System (PDS), entrusted with distributing basic food and non-food commodities to the needy sections of the society at subsidized prices, can emerge as a perfect instrument to distribute millets to the poor. A decentralized procurement mechanism has been recommended wherein states themselves take up the responsibility of procuring millets from the farmers on a much larger scale so as to be allocated in the PDS of different states. The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, included coarse grains under its scope at ₹1 per kg. This means that millets are available under the PDS at prices lesser than that of wheat and rice (₹2/3 per kg). Many states have already taken an initiative of introducing millets in their own respective public distribution systems and other states are also being encouraged to do the same.
Other forms of distributing these coarse cereals are through introducing them in several welfare schemes of the Government like the mid-day meal scheme and integrated child development services, to name a few. In this way children are directly introduced to millets which help in their growth and improve their nutritional status.
Limitations of Millet Distribution
Availability of millets to the end consumer, however, is still a major concern in India. Most ration shops in the country are devoid of millets. A major reason is low productivity and return on millet farming. Besides, the procurement operations of millets are also minimal. There is also a severe lack of processing units and well integrated supply chains for millet production to reach the end consumer. Additionally, millets have lower shelf life compared to other cereals which makes them difficult to manage and store for long.
Scope of Millets in India
Despite the limitations of cultivating and distributing millets in India, these coarse cereals have tremendous scope in addressing issues related to malnutrition. They also help during treatment of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, nervous disorders, digestive problems, blood pressure, ulcers and other non-communicable diseases. Other benefits of cultivating millets include those related to improvement of soil fertility, enabling a multi cropping system, ease of production and fodder & livelihood security.
Currently these coarse cereals are predominantly grown in bulk in a few states, for example, Maharashtra, Telangana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana and Tamil Nadu. The State Governments of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have even taken special steps to promote millet cultivation.
Serious efforts are being made to reintegrate these coarse cereals into the diet of the poorer sections of society. A large section of the informed community is already well aware of the health and nutritional benefits of millets and has integrated it in their diet. In many communities in rural India, for example, in Rajasthan, Gujarat, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya, millets form a considerable part of the people’s diet. Capitalising on these aspects is crucial to solving India’s malnutrition problems.
Way Forward
To promote these coarse cereals awareness needs to be generated among the public, informing them about the benefits of consuming and cultivating millets. Higher yielding varieties of millet seeds need to be distributed among farmers on a large scale at subsidized rates to promote their cultivation. Additionally, as millets are very diverse in nature, a need-based approach has to be implemented to match local demand with local supply. In this way, nutritional deficiency, storage of the crop, climate issues, food preferences of people and other social and economic factors, of a particular area/ region would also take a front seat in promotion of millets. Distribution of these coarse cereals would, therefore, have to be operated under a more steady decentralized mechanism requiring State Governments and local organisations to play a more active role. Following the report of the NITI Aayog Committee, the Government has already notified millets to be repositioned as ‘nutri-cereals’.
Improving Returns for Millet Farming
Efforts are also being made to improve the net returns for farmers who cultivate these crops. As announced in the Union Budget speech 2018-19, the MSP of these crops have been fixed at 50% above cost, which signifies that at any given time, a farmer cultivating jowar, ragior bajraor any other crop for that matter, will receive a 50% profit during procurement. It can be seen that there is substantial hike in MSPs of millets during 2018-19, which is expected to provide a major boost to the production of millets in the country.