Consumers need to be educated about the nutritional and ecological benefits of millet and encouraged to incorporate them into their diet

Every year brings with it new trends, scientific advancements, and renewed goals for a healthy future, but the year 2023 has been particularly significant for ensuring that everyone on this planet has optimal health and access to nourishment.

The United Nations has designated this year as the ‘International Year of Millets’, redirecting everyone’s attention to one of the oldest grains, the magical millets, to change the health landscape, and boost food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture. It was adopted on the recommendation of the Indian government after declaring 2018 as the ‘National Year of Millet’ to restore the practice of adding millet to the food basket for its health benefits and overall well-being, owing to its high nutritional value.

Millet is a superfood loaded with fibre, protein, essential vitamins, and minerals. One serving of this super grain can meet the daily requirements for several nutrients needed for the optimum function of the brain and body. Millets also offer significant ecological benefits. Its ability to thrive in harsh, arid conditions with little maintenance, makes it a viable crop option for countries with challenging climates. Furthermore, millet requires less water than other crops making it environment-friendly produce with a smaller carbon footprint. Cultivating it also decreases dependence on imported cereal grains and promotes sustainable agriculture practices, globally. 

In a recent conference on Global Millets, Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi while referring to millets as Shree Ann, defined the superfood as the core medium to address the nutritional concerns across different population segments as well as an ideal way for a nation to grow exponentially. Millets can collectively bring ample opportunity for the small farmers of the country to scale and offer benefits for a sustainable future.

The Government of India has been making tremendous efforts to revive the production and consumption of millets through Minimum Support Price (MSP) schemes that provide financial aid to farmers for cultivating millets, and the introduction of millets in the Public Distribution System (PDS) to make them accessible and affordable. This has led to India becoming the world’s largest producer and second-largest exporter of millets, today.

While our country has made remarkable progress in reducing extreme poverty to 21% and halving infant mortality in the past three decades, a significant proportion of the population belonging to marginalized sections of society still struggles to have access to nutritious food. The nodal nutrition institute in India's National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and the Indian Institute of Millet Research (ICAR-IIMR), in their research studies, have established that millet consumption has a significant impact on health and nutrition. Millet, thus, is being promoted as a means of addressing the challenges of malnourishment, which is most prevalent among women and children in our country. The government’s initiative to add millet to the mid-day meal is a visionary approach to support the POSHAN Abhiyaan 2.0 mission and address the issue of malnutrition, particularly in children. Their food-on-table initiatives such as Take-Home Ration (THR) and Hot Cooked Meals (HCM) are gradually helping to overcome the nutritional imbalance among children, especially ages 3-6 years.

The Union Budget 2023 declared ICAR-IIMR as the Global Center of Excellence on Millets towards promoting India as a global hub for millets providing a strong impetus to millet research, advocacy, and innovation. On the other hand, ICMR-NIN has been actively contributing towards the government's initiatives to combat malnutrition by providing supplementary foods, diversified diets, health check-ups, and community-based interventions. Despite significant efforts by the government and various stakeholders, the challenge of malnutrition remains complex and multi-faceted, requiring innovative solutions. It is imperative that the private sector and civil society partners with the government on driving the mission to promote millets to address malnutrition concern comprehensively.

Quantified efforts are being observed by corporates to add millet-based products into their portfolio and introduce nutritious food products with millet as the core ingredient, to the community. This paradigm shift by corporates signifies a positive trend in nutrition delivery, reflecting their responsibility to contribute to the welfare of society. 

We have an opportunity to transform the way we approach food, health and nutrition. Growing and consuming ancient millets will be key to addressing this transformation, enhancing human health, protecting the environment, and preserving cultural traditions, in times to come!

(The author is a former scientist G & head of Public Health Nutrition Division, ICMR-NIN)