Coarse cereals (millets), such as bajra, jowar, ragi/madua, sawan and kodo are 100 per cent pure in terms of nutrients.
Rice or wheat, which are most commonly used as food grains, do not stand anywhere in front of them in terms of health merits. Free from the fattening gluten (a type of protein) found in wheat, these grains are rich in dietary fibre, iron, calcium, fat, carbohydrate, magnesium and protein. This is the reason that after several researches, modern science is describing millets as "power houses" of nutrition. These grains can become the most effective weapons in the global war against malnutrition.
As far as malnutrition is concerned, according to the report of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, about 768 million people are facing the challenge of malnutrition globally. In India, this number is around 22.4 crore. This is the reason why coarse grains can prove to be an effective weapon against malnutrition. Because of its nutritional properties, today scientists from all over the world call millets super food. To make these grains popular, "ready to eat" and "ready to cook" recipes are being made. Many of the qualities of these grains that the world is talking about today are also mentioned in the couplets/poems of the great poet Ghagh, who gave accurate information about agriculture and weather.
In his couplets/poems, Ghagh has described the methods of sowing millets along with its merits and recipes. For example, regarding the quality of millet, Ghagh says, "Uth ke bajra u hassi bolai, khaye budha juva ho jaaye" (Even an old person becomes young after eating millets). Another couplet says “Madua meen, peen sang dahi, kodo ka bhaat doodh sang dahi”. Similarly, in an Ayurvedic couplet it is said, "Roti makke ki bhali, theek kare liver aapka TB bhi ho door". In Punjab, even now, maize bread and mustard greens are considered excellent food.
Apart from being a powerhouse of nutrients, millets are also eco-friendly. They require less fertiliser, water and can grow in any kind of land. From preparation of the field, plowing of the land to irrigation, less energy and diesel is used leading to environmental protection. Besides, people, land and water are largely saved from the poison of chemicals, fertilisers and pesticides.
The history of millets is as old as our civilisation. Due to its qualities, millets have been the main part of the plates of our ancestors since ancient times. Its history is as old as that of human civilisation and the finding of traces of millets in the remains of the Indus valley civilisation, one of the oldest civilisations of the world, 3,000 years ago, bears testimony to this.
Coarse grains were not just food, but part of our tradition. It was part of our crop rotation and food until not so long ago before the Green Revolution. About five-six decades ago, Gojai was only the name of some crops. For example, the crop of paddy and kodo sown together was called Dhankodai. Similarly, the crop sown together with wheat and barley was called Gozai. These crops were so established in their tradition that in those days some people in the village were also found in the name of Gojai and Kodai. According to a survey in 1962, the annual per capita consumption of millets in the country was about 33 kg. However, in 2010 it came down to around 4 kg. In fact, before the Green Revolution, these grains, capable of growing in adverse weather and fit for long-term storage, were the main part of our plate. But, with the Green Revolution, the focus shifted to cultivation of wheat-paddy, increasing resources of irrigation and availability of chemical fertilisers and chemicals and gradually we forgot the healthy millets.
Now that the United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets on the initiative of India and it is expected that coarse grains will also get its due. The days of sawan, kodo, madua will come back to build a healthy India.
If we look at the place of India in coarse cereals at the global level, India's share in their production is close to 20 per cent. In terms of Asia, this share is about 80 per cent. Millet and jowar are our main crops in this. Especially in the production of millets, India is number one in the world and Uttar Pradesh is number one in India. Therefore, the responsibility of India, especially Uttar Pradesh, increases in making the International Millet Year a success. The state government is also ready for this. A complete plan to popularise millets has already been prepared. Now for this the focus is on the availability of quality seeds.
It is worth mentioning that India had celebrated Millet Year in 2018 itself. On India's initiative, the Food and Agriculture Organisation approved India's proposal to celebrate 2023 as the International Millet Year. Later the United Nations declared 2023 as the International Millet Year. In such a situation, the role of India and agriculture-dominated states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan becomes most important in making it successful. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by mentioning 'Millet Revolution' in the Mann Ki Baat programme, had also indicated that India was ready for it. This preparation has been going on since 2018 itself.
Four years ago, the Government of India started promoting coarse grains by keeping them in the category of nutritious grains. The results so far have also been good in terms of yield and production per hectare. Its production has increased from 164 lakh tonnes to 176 lakh tonnes in the last four years. In the same sequence, per hectare production has increased from 1,163 kg to 1,239 kg. Due to the encouragement received from the government, the organsations associated with them have also done excellent work for millets. For example, the Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR), Hyderabad is promoting new startups by setting up a technology incubator Nutri Hub with the help of the Central department of science and technology. All kinds of help is being given to the startups. The target is that the number of startups should reach 1,000 by the time the International Year of Millets begins in about a month. Not only this, more than 500 recipes (ready to eat, ready to cook) have also been prepared on the basis of millet. During the same period, more than 150 improved varieties of coarse cereals, which are high yielding and disease resistant, have also been launched. Of these, 10 are of additional nutrition and nine are of biofertilised breeding to increase nutrients.
On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Agriculture department has prepared a comprehensive action plan to make farmers and people aware of coarse grains in the International Millet Year. During this, a two-day workshop will be organised at the state level. In this, 250 farmers will be trained by subject experts on advanced methods of cultivation, storage and processing of coarse grains. Similar training programmes will be run in the districts as well.
A two-day farmer's fair will be organised in the districts where they are traditionally cultivated. A total of 500 farmers will participate in each fair. The fair will facilitate direct dialogue between farmers and scientists. Rallies will be taken out to make people aware of the merits of the millets. Aggressive campaigns will also be launched through Doordarshan, Akashvani, FM radio, daily newspapers, banners and posters at public places to publicise their merits at the state level.
When the farmers sow coarse grains in the next season of Kharif, quality seeds will be available in abundance. In this regard, UP Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi met Union Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja and discussed the production of jowar, bajra, sawa, kodo and madua. He also demanded that the mini kits of ragi seeds be made available on time. According to the agriculture minister, he has demanded 350-350 quintals of sawan and kodo seeds and 50 quintals of madua seeds.
According to Dr Akhilanand Pandey (retired deputy director agriculture), quality seeds are most important in terms of crop production. The yield and its quality depend on it. The rest depends on the preparation of the field, fertilisation, watering and crop protection measures to protect against pests and diseases from time to time.
