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The term “millet” comes from Medieval Latin “millis” (thousand), from Greek μίλλος (mille) meaning “small”. Millets are small, naturally grown seeds that have been cultivated in the same basic form for about 10,000 years. Certain groups of people refer to themselves as millets and keep their traditional way of life and millet cultivation. The growing of millets is a traditional livelihood for many indigenous communities worldwide, but especially across the Indian subcontinent.
What are Millets?
Millets are the natural grains, which are native to South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. These are cultivated in arid regions of the country. They are perennial and most of them are able to withstand drought conditions.
The word “Millet” comes from the Latin word “Millium” which means flour or meal. But it is wrong because Millets have their seeds with mills unlike the wheat and rice that have their seeds without mills. The name millet is due to its texture that resembles flour or meal which is hard to grind but soft when cooked. The botanical term for it is Panicum, a genus in the family Poaceae.
Millets are the most ancient of foods and were first cultivated close to 10,000 BC. Many species such as pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) are native to Africa. These are also important food crops in India, China, Japan, Nepal and Pakistan.
Types of Millets in India:
There are 6 Types of Millets in India, which are-
- Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum):
It is cultivated all over India. It is a native of Africa and it can grow well in moderately hot and also in cold regions. The annual productivity is 2 t/ha to 4 t/ha but it could be improved by means of crop rotation and legume sowing, it can be increased up to 4.5 t/ha. Pearl millet is an important food crop for the semi-arid areas of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan as well as for the dry areas of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. In Telangana, it is popular for Maize in the Red soils. Its starches are low in gluten.
- Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana):
It’s native to Africa and it can grow well in moderate conditions like hot as well as cold regions. It can be cultivated on both flood and non-flood lands but the productivity could be increased with the help of crop rotations, improved seed varieties, irrigation and timely rain water management system. It is an important food crop for the dry areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
- Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica):
It is cultivated in southern India, particularly in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It is an important crop for food and as green fodder for livestock. It is cultivated on barren lands as well as fallow lands or on dry alluvial soil. Its productivity could be increased by means of planting various millets in succession, cropping with legumes, timely rainfall management system and improved seed varieties.
- Barnyard Millet (Echinochloa pyramidalis):
It grows up to 1 m high and planted along with other crops to suppress weeds and provide green manure. It can grow well even in saline soils but the yield will be low.
- Black Gram (Vigna mungo):
It is an ancient grain crop which grows up to 30 cm high. It is grown to produce its edible seeds and used as a green manure crop. The grain is polished, hulled, split and boiled. The flour is used to prepare foods such as Idli, Dosa and Sambhar etc. The sesame oil cake after extracting the oil from it can be mixed with other feed materials for better results in milk production.
- Mustard (Sinapis arvensis):
It is an ancient crop grown for its edible seeds. It is a native of Africa and it can grow well in dry lands, fallow lands or saline soils. The crop can be increased by means of planting millets in succession and cropping with legumes. This crop is important for the dry areas of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan etc.
Advantages of Millets:
1) Easy storage:
Millets can be stored for a longer term. They can be kept in plastic bags and stored under a dry atmosphere. They can be used in the coming summer season if needed.
2) Resistant to pests and diseases:
Millets are raised without any chemical fertilisers, insecticides or pesticides. In this regard, they have advantages over other cereal crops. They need less labour and water. So farmers will get more output with less input cost.
3) Tasty, nutritious & easy to digest:
Millets are considered as low-cost food grains. They are richer in dietary fibre and proteins than wheat. It contains more fat-soluble vitamins and minerals, vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin and niacin; calcium, iron and phosphorus compared to wheat that is rich in fat-soluble vitamins but low in mineral content among them.
4) Less cost harsh treatment:
Millets need less land for cultivation which is beneficial for the farmers since it will reduce the drain on other natural resources.
5) Good for environment:
Millets are considered as good for the environment. They don’t require any chemicals for pest and weed control.
Steps taken by government to Increase Millet Production:
1) To boost the use of millets, the government has also taken a number of steps in this regard. Farmers will get a direct payment of 40 rupee per quintal of millet production.
2) It has been announced that farmers growing millets on rainfed areas will get 75 rupees per quintal over and above the MSP.
3) The government had also launched the National Programme for Cultivation and Development of Millets (NP-CMDM).
4) It has also launched Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), which aims to make India self-sufficient in food grains with increasing productivity of non-basmati rice, pulses and oil seeds.
Conclusion:
Millets are a type of grain that provides various health benefits to the body by containing vitamins and minerals. Also, it is rich in dietary fibre, which helps to keep the digestive system healthy. It can also be used as a good substitute for rice and wheat. This is why it is considered as one of the best grains for weight loss in India. Initially, millets were thought to be inferior to other cereals such as wheat or rice because they contain less gluten and are considered easy to digest. But some studies show that millets are beneficial as they contain essential nutrients such as proteins, amino acids, insoluble fibre etc that leads to better health and weight loss.
