How the state is planning to bring millet back on our tables

Mumbai: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s aspiration to make India a global hub of millet aligns with fitness enthusiasts shifting to the coarse grains as a heathy dietary option – nachni cakes and bajra breads are all the rage among weight watchers and diabetics in urban India. Ironically, while Maharashtra is one of the leading producers of millets in the country, over a period of time, the area under cultivation has seen a steady decline. (See box: ‘Dwindling production’.)

In order to make its branding exercise a success, the state government has allocated ₹250 crore to reverse the trend, even as experts have demanded a minimum support price (MSP) for millet and making the native grains available through public distribution system (PDS) to stoke its demand.

On Thursday, India Post, Mumbai region organised a road show in the lanes of Kamathipura to create awareness amongst the commercial sex workers about the nutritional value of millets. The event was led by postmaster general of Mumbai, Swati Pandey, and millet food packets were distributed.

Acknowledging the prime minister and state government’s initiatives, Pasha Patel, former chairman of state agricultural price commission, said there should be MSP for millets and government should include it in the list of foodgrains provided to the people through PDS.

“Millets are no doubt good for health and farming ecosystem but the area under them is declining rapidly. Farmers are shifting to cash crop like sugarcane and soyabean. It’s good to see the prime minister organising the millet lunch and FM naming millets as Shree Anna,” said Patel. “The native grain will get the dignity but these measures are not sufficient to boost cultivation. Government should declare the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for millets. Secondly, it should procure millets and include it in the list of foodgrains provided to the people through PDS, as it was done with wheat and rice a few decades ago. This will generate demand and will encourage farmers to cultivate millets,” opined Patel.

For several decades now, availability of water thanks to irrigation schemes have encouraged farmers to shift cultivating to cash crops like sugarcane. For example, Solapur, which was once a draught-prone district, and called the jowar bowl of the state, now has highest number of sugar mills in the state. Another cash rich crop, soybean has replaced millet cultivation as it generates better income for farmers. Millets do not yield as high price as sugarcane or soyabean.

Eknath Dawale, principal secretary, state agriculture department, said, “Central and the state governments are focusing on millets, which are known as good foods that help combat lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hyper tension etc. Besides that, in order to increase the income of millet growers we are focusing on value addition of the crop by food processing. This will help to increase the area under millet cultivation,” said Dawale.

Currently, India is the largest producer and second-largest exporter of millets. According to report of Assocham published in 2022, the area under the cultivation of millets in India is about 12.45 million hectares. Rajasthan produces 29.05%, followed by Maharashtra, which contributes 20.67% of the annual produce. Other states involved in the cultivation of millets are Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.