Food Security

Food Security:

An estimated 2-3 billion people may experience food insecurity and hunger by 2050 as a result of declining food production rates and the additional strain of feeding a population expected to surpass 9 billion. Millets are versatile; they grow in half the time of wheat and require 70% less water, as well as 40% less energy for processing. In light of climate change, water scarcity, and drought circumstances, they offer a one-stop shop and a high nutritional value to ensure sustainable food security. Low-impact diets preserve ecosystems and biological diversity, hence facilitating food and nutrition access. Crop diversification by the use of more coarse cereals, such as millets, can boost food production, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and enhance climate resilience without sacrificing nutritional value (Banerjee, et al., 2020). Nowadays, dry regions of Africa cultivate about 55% of the world’s millets, followed by Asia at 40% and Europe at 3% in figure 2.

Fig. 2: Millets production (%) in different countries of the world (FAQ 2018)

The demand for millets in India has increased by 140%, yet less than 50% are produced. For every hectare, a farmer receives only 600 kg of millet when 400 millimetres of rain fall. In India, 2.7 metric tons of rice and 3.5 metric tons of wheat are produced per acre at the moment. Because millets are so full of nutrients, they should be promoted as a dependable source of nourishment. These have historically been important food staples, particularly in Asia and Africa (Singh et al., 2022). Sorghum and other millets have been consumed much less as direct food over the last thirty years. Because of the reduction in demand, millets are produced in much less quantity in India. India’s production of sorghum fell from 7 million tonnes in 2010–11 to 4.2 million tonnes in 2015–16; during the same period, the country produced less bajra (10.4 million tonnes to 8.1 million tonnes), ragi (2.2 million tonnes to 1.8 million tonnes), and small-millet (0.44 million tonnes to 0.39 million tonnes) (Singh et al., 2022). The world’s largest producer of millet is India. In 2020, the two millets grown in India, Pearl Millet (Bajra) and Sorghum (Jowar), would account for roughly 19% of global production. In 2020, the world’s production of millets was made up of 40.51 percent Pearl Millet from India and 8.09 percent Sorghum. Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttarakhand are the main Indian states that produce millets (APEDA 2022). Together, these ten states currently produce 98% of all millets produced in India between 2020 and 21. The area under cultivation of millets in 2021-22 is 15.48 million hectares, while in 2013-14 it was 12.29 million hectares. The production of millet is mostly concentrated in six states: Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat, accounting for over 83%. Twenty-eight percent of India’s millet is produced in Rajasthan. India produces a wide range of millets, including pseudo millets like buckwheat and amaranths, as well as Pearl Millets, Sorghum, Finger Millet, Foxtail, Kodo, Barnyard, Proso, and Little Millet. The majority of India’s millets are produced as finger millet (Ragi), sorghum (Jowar), and pearl millet (Bajra) in Figure 3 (APEDA 2022).

Figure 3: Millets production (%) in different states of India during 2021-22

India is also a top five exporter of millets in the globe.
Millets’ global exports rose from $400 million in 2020 to $470 million in 2021, according to the International Trade Centre trade map. India exported millets worth $64.28 million in 2021-22, compared to $59.75 million in 2021-2022. Millet output climbed from 14.52 million tons in 2015-16 to 17.96 million tons in 2020-21, as reported by the Press Information Bureau (PIB 2022). The crops listed are finger millet (ragi), small millets, pearl millet (bajra), and sorghum (jowar). Area, Production and Yield of Millet Crops in India from 2010–11 to 2019-20. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is also listed for each crop and the total. For finger millet, the CAGR for area is -0.34%, production is 0.84%, and yield is 0.10%. For small millets, the CAGR for area is 0.10%, production is -4.94%, and yield is 3.60%. For pearl millet, the CAGR for area is 0.49%, production is -0.43%, and yield is 2.05%. For sorghum (jowar), the CAGR for area is 0.42%, production is 2.53%, and yield is 4.64%. The CAGR for the total area is -3.00%, production is -0.94%, and yield is 2.12% (NITI, 2022). Table 2: Global millets production 1961-2021.

Table 2: Global millets production

Six states, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana, account for more than 79% of millet production in India according to the pie chart in 2023-24. Madhya Pradesh – 7%, Haryana – 8%, Tamil Nadu – 4%, Andhra Pradesh – 3%, Maharashtra – 11%, Karnataka – 11%, Rajasthan – 32%, Uttar Pradesh – 18%,
3% go to Gujarat, 1% to Uttarakhand, and 2% others (APEDA 2024).

            Figure 4: Millets production (%) in different states of Indiab(APEDA 2024).

Table 3 Production of Finger millet in Sikkim 2003-2020 (Agriwelfare 2023)

Fig. 5 Area and production of Finger millet

Fig.6 Productivity of Finger millet 2003-2020