The Forgotten Grains - Millets: A Review
Abstract
One of the earliest meals consumed by humans, millets may have been the first cereal grain employed in household cooking. Since ancient times, millets have been a primary source of nutrition for the inhabitants in semi-arid tropics in Asia and Africa, where other crops do not thrive. India and Asia have both been major millet consumers for centuries. Millet seeds are mashed and used to make the Indian flatbread roti. Despite all of these remarkable traits and capabilities of millet farming systems, the area dedicated to millet production has been declining over the past 50 years, and this decline accelerated during the green revolution. The little "grain" is free of gluten and rich in vitamins and minerals. Good quality protein, minerals, dietary fiber, phytochemicals, and vitamins are all abundant in millet grain, which is also extremely nutrient-dense. When compared to wheat and rice, millets have a lower glycemic index. When compared to wheat, the protein level of foxtail millet, proso millet, and pearl millet is greater. Kodo, tiny, foxtail, and barnyard millet have greater fiber contents. Modern as well as marginal farmers should be recommended to grow millets as it needs much less water and caring than its counterpart grains. Keeping this in mind a review of all the millets that can be grown in India has been included in this paper, pointing out millets from farmers perspective to include millets in his/her farming scheme as well from consumers perspective for its medical and health benefits.
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Introduction
1.1 Recognition of Millets on International level: In 2023, the International Year of Millets was observed. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2023 the International Year of Millets in order to promote millet cultivation, consumption, and conservation. Millets are a type of grass with small seeds that is highly nutritious, drought resistant, and grows well in a variety of conditions. For thousands of years, they have been an important source of food for many communities allover the world. The International Year of Millets is predicted to have a number of positive effects, including enhanced food and nutrition security, higher income for smallholder farmers, and more sustainable use of natural resources. It is also intended to help achieve numerous SDGs, including SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and SDG 13. (Climate Action). The International Year of Millets seeks to increase awareness of the importance of millets as a staple food, promote millet production and consumption, and encourage research and innovation in millet-based food systems. Source: APEDA 1.2 Bring back Millets in farming again: One of the first crops to be domesticated was millets. They were farmed in India for more than 5,000 years and were a staple meal in many ancient civilizations. From 3,300 to 1300 BCE, the Indus-Sarasvati civilisation ate millets. In 3,000 BC, the inhabitants of the Indus valley also ate them. They are also climate change resistant. They are an excellent alternative for dryland crops because of their innate endurance. More than rice output, millets accounted about 40% of all produced grains prior to the Green Revolution. With the effects of agriculture and the environment, millet output throughout time decreased from 40% of the grain production share to merely 10%. Wheat and rice are becoming common foods in India. During the last 60 years, our agricultural strategy has prioritised rice and wheat while ignoring millets, particularly small ones such as foxtail millet, tiny millet, browntop millet, and others. The availability of subsidised rice and wheat through the public distribution system and governmental nutrition programmes has also had a significant effect in shifting people'sdietary choices from millets to rice in rainfed regions. Millets have vanished from our plates and fields as a result of systematic neglect. Millets are abundant in nutrients and include a lot of carbs, fibre, protein, and minerals including iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. They are also low in fat and have alow glycemic index, making them an excellent choice for diabetics.
Conclusion
With the increasing population every year equivalently increasing pressure for higher production leads to higher consumption of water, fertilizers, pesticides etc. Rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane especially consume much water and time forgiving relevant production, to counter this in present time, millets gives much higher counting benefits than any of the farming cereal. Before the rise of wheat and rice in late 1960’sduring green revolution, millets were playing the part of India’smajor cereal. Afterwards high yielding rice and wheat took over the area from millets but now after five decades it is realized that need of millets is not only for saving cultivation price but also to fulfil nutritional need.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST There is no conflicts of interest of any type in drafting this review paper.
AUTHOR’S CONTRIBUTION Both author contributed equally in conceived and design the analysis, collected the data, performed the analysis and wrote the full length paper.
