Cropping Pattern

The agricultural sector is one of the sectors most sensitive to climate change because the climate of a region determines the nature and characteristics of vegetation and crops. In such a situation, there is a need to look for crops, which can survive the ongoing climate change. In this context, the cultivation of millets is being revived owing to the following reasons:

• Millets are hardy crops that can thrive in varying agro-climate regions and can withstand extreme temperatures and droughts. Some varieties of pearl millets survive at temperatures up to 46 degrees Celsius.
• These crops help mitigate the effects of climate change through their lower carbon footprint per hectare as compared to wheat and rice.
• Millets also require less water than rice, sugarcane, and wheat. They grow well in dry zones as rain-fed crops.
• They grow well on poor soils as well. In many areas, millets are cultivated on grazing lands, which were unused for any other profitable work prior to this.
• Their cultivation cost is lesser when compared to other crops since millets are mostly cultivated on natural farming-based techniques, eliminating a lot of other input costs.
• Millets are called ‘famine reserves’ as they have a short growing season of 65 days and can be stored for two years or beyond.

Moreover, climate change, which is now impacting agricultural production and food stability, threatens nutritional security as well. In this context, millets gain importance as they act as rich sources of macronutrients and micronutrients, with high levels of calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, protein, and essential amino acids. They are non-glutinous and rich in antioxidants as well. India currently has around 14 million hectares of land under millet cultivation. Further, according to the fourth advance estimates for the year 2021-22, about 16 million tonnes of millet have been produced in India, which is about 5 percent of the national food grain basket. Considering the benefits, various steps have been taken by the government to promote millet cultivation, including:

• Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millet Promotion (INSIMP), which was launched in 2011-12 to promote millets as “Nutri-cereals” and enhance India’s nutritional security. It is a part of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
• The government declared 2018 as the National Year of Millets and launched the Millet Mission as part of the National Food Security Mission, which has led to the promotion of technological interventions, improvement in seed quality, and a minimum support price (MSP).
• Integrated Cereals Development Programmes in Coarse Cereals under Macro Management of Agriculture scheme to increase the overall productivity under specific crop-based systems.
• The government allowed the inclusion of “nutri- cereals” in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and the Mid-Day Meal scheme.
• State governments have launched several schemes to give an impetus to the production of millets, such as the Odisha Millets Mission.

With 2023 being the UN-designated International Year of Millets, there is a need to promote and strengthen the value chain for millets and millet-based products, including the ready-to-eat category. Millets are being increasingly recognized as climate-smart crops with enormous nutritional and health benefits.