Millets

In News

• Recently, the Prime Minister of India, along with fellow parliamentarians across party lines, enjoyed a lunch made of millets to raise awareness on millets.

Millets 

• About:
  • The term millet is used to describe small-grained cereals like sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), foxtail millet (kangni/ Italian millet), little millet (kutki), kodo millet, finger millet (ragi/ mandua), proso millet (cheena/ common millet), barnyard millet (sawa/ sanwa/ jhangora), and brown top millet (korale).
  • Several varieties that are now grown around the world were first cultivated in India. 
  • West Africa, China, and Japan are also home to indigenous varieties of the crop.

• Global Scenario:
  • Globally, sorghum (jowar) is the biggest millet crop. 
  • The major producers of jowar are the United States, China, Australia, India, Argentina, Nigeria, and Sudan. 
  • Bajra is another major millet crop; India and some African countries are major producers.
• Production in India:
  • In India, millets are mainly a kharif crop. 
  • During 2018-19, three millet crops — bajra (3.67%), jowar (2.13%), and ragi (0.48%) — accounted for about 7 percent of the gross cropped area in the country.
  • Jowar is mainly grown in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh. 

Image Courtesy: IE

• Consumption of millets- It was reported mainly from these states:
  • Gujarat (jowar and bajra), 
  • Karnataka (jowar and ragi), 
  • Maharashtra (jowar and bajra), 
  • Rajasthan (bajra), and 
  • Uttarakhand (ragi).
• Benefits:
  • Millets are eco-friendly crops – require much less water than rice and wheat.
  • Can be grown in rainfed areas without additional irrigation.  
  • They are highly nutritious. 
  • Higher protein, fat and fiber content: Millets contain 7-12% protein, 2-5% fat, 65-75% carbohydrates and 15-20% dietary fiber.

Source: IE