At the opening ceremony of the International Year of Millets in Rome Prime Minister Modi spoke about creating ‘millet mindfulness’
Growing millets is a step towards sustainability and food security, according to several experts. India is making some efforts not only nationally, but globally in this direction. At India’s behest, the United Nations approved 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The move was supported by 70 nations.
The opening ceremony of the International Year of Millets held at the Food and Agricultural Organization's (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy, was attended by an Indian delegation led by Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare along with Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary (Crops), DA&FW and other senior officials. Karandlaje delivered the ceremonial message from Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of India.
In his message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed appreciation to member countries for their assistance in observing the International Year of Millets 2023 and thanked the United Nations and FAO for the initiative.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of making millets a future food option by pointing out that millets are one of the earliest crops grown by humans and have historically been a significant source of nutrition. He also spoke about the pandemic. Modi also discussed how the availability of food is being impacted by climate change.
Millets are resilient and rain-fed crops that thrive in dry regions and grow well in conditions of low soil fertility and moisture. In terms of nutritional value, millets are superior to popular cereals like wheat and rice. The calcium, iron and fibre content of millets provide important nutrients for children's healthy growth. Describing millets as a source of balanced nutrition, which are produced through natural farming practices that require less water, he remarked, “Millets are good for the consumer, the cultivator and climate.”
While Modi was highlighting the significance of millets on the world stage, another event was organised on the home turf. With the aim of encouraging the export of millets, a two-day event ‘Millets: Smart Nutritive Food’ was organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry through its apex agricultural export promotion organisation, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). The Conclave is expected to serve as a precursor to the International Year of Millets - 2023 (IYoM-2023).
At the India conclave, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal said that India must strive to become the global capital of millets. Addressing the first international buyer-seller meet on millets being held on the side-lines of the conclave, the minister urged producers and sellers to look at fresher markets for Indian millets to boost exports. Given their exceptional nutritional richness, millets were referred to as "nature's gift to mankind", added Goyal.
The minister cited the prime minister when he stated that "millets or coarse grains have been a part of India's agriculture, culture and civilisation since ancient times" and that millets are capable of preventing both climatic disorders and ailments associated with a sedentary lifestyle. He discussed the importance of millets as fodder and claimed that they have genuinely extensive advantages.
With an estimated 41 per cent of the worldwide millets production, India is one of the top producers in the world. According to the FAO, the total millet production in the world in 2020 was 30.464 million metric tonnes (MMT).
The top five millet-producing states in India are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. Sorghum (Jowar), Pearl Millet (Bajra), Finger Millet (Ragi), Minor Millets (Kangani), Proso Millet (Cheena), Kodo Millet (Kodo), and Barnyard Millet (Sawa/Sanwa/Jhangora) are among the 16 main kinds of millet that are produced and exported.
The government has also launched an e-catalogue on 30 potential millet importing nations and 21 millet-producing Indian states at the first-ever millets conclave. On this occasion, a knowledge book on millets that was developed in collaboration with knowledge partner Yes Bank was also released.
According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence & Statistics (DGCIS) data, India's millet exports increased by 8.02 per cent in the fiscal year 2021–2022 to 159,332.16 metric tonnes from 147,501.08 metric tonnes during the same time the previous year. The UAE, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Oman, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, the United Kingdom and the United States of America are India's top millet exporting nations. Indian exports of millets include Bajra, Ragi, Canary, Jawar and Buckwheat types.
The government is aggressively promoting millets. Indian missions abroad will be tasked with branding and publicising Indian millets, identifying top chefs from around the world and potential customers like department stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets for the purpose of setting up B2B meetings and direct partnerships.
Additionally, potential importers and ambassadors of the targeted nations' embassies in India have been invited to see a range of millet-based goods, including ready to eat millet products, and to promote B2B interactions. The government intends to facilitate the participation of various Indian stakeholders in some of the important food exhibitions in South Africa, Dubai, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Sydney, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
As part of the promotion of Indian millets, APEDA has planned to showcase millets and its value-added product at various global platforms such as Gulfood 2023, Foodex, Seoul Food & Hotel Show, Saudi Agro Food, Fine Food Show in Sydney (Australia), Belgium’s Food & Beverages Show, Germany’s BioFach and Anuga Food Fair, San Francisco’s Winter Fancy Food Show, etc.
Sunil Barthwal, the secretary of commerce, stated during the event that there is a great opportunity to increase millet exports from India. From $15 million, he claimed, "We can attain the goal of $100 billion in two-three years.”
He said that many of the millet-related startups came into this business after 2023 was declared as the year of millets.