The book also contains a DVD showing a

film 'Milets-The Miracle Grains'

See the inside of back cover for this.
 God’s Own Crops
National Consultation On Millets
National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad
June 5 & 6, 2008

Millet Network of India

National Institute for Rural Development

Deccan Development Society

Supported by
MISEREOR , Germany
God’s Own Crops
Report of a
National Consultation On Millets
organised by the Millet Network of India, Hyderabad
June 5 & 6, 2008

Photos:
Masanagari Yesu and
Masanagari Mayuri

Deccan Development Society

Village Pastapur, Zaheerabad, Medak - 502 220
Andhra Pradesh, India.
Tel: +91-8451-282271, 282785, Fax: +91-8451-282271
E-mail: hyd1_ddshyd@sancharnet.in, ddsrural@sancharnet.in

Liasion Office:
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Begumpet, Hyderabad - 500 016
Andhra Pradesh, India. Tel: +91-040-27764577,27764744, Fax: +91-40-27764722
E-mail: hyd2_ddsppvr1@sancharnet.in, ddshyderabad@gmail.com

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II
 Preface

W
e live in an age that is witnessing an unprecedented agrarian crisis compounded
by catastrophic climate change and growing food shortages. This has led to an
alarming surge in search of pat solutions. More alarmingly, this search is led by a
predatory biotech industry, closely followed by an emerging eco-industry. This profit-hungry
private sector is offering solutions that assure a remedy worse than the disease itself.
We in the MINI, Millet Network of India, do not see millets just as crops. For us millet
is a concept embedded in our people’s food cultures, agricultural practices and above
all its ability to help the millet farmer make her/his agriculture autonomous. The
remarkable possibility that millets offer for an internal input based farming, free from
chemicals and corporates make them the new age answer to a new age crisis. Through
their versatility, millets show us the way out of the web of disaster we have woven
around our food and farming future.
Our current development discourse is riddled with a series of insecurities. We truly believe
that the damage done in the name of ‘farming advances’ can be repaired only by handing
the leadership to farmers, women and the excluded who through their awesome knowledge
of farming and nature can bring back sanity to our development thinkging. It is against this
background that we must notice the eminent role millets can play in reinvigorating the
agriculture sector. Food, farming, water, energy, climate change --- name the crisis, and
test the resourcefulness of millets to respond to it – you will be in for a revelation. One just
wonders why our development thinkers and policy planners failed to notice the awesome
range of millet magic!. Over 65% of the Indian farmlands are under rainfed conditions, and
millets are ideally at home here. Therefore, the rejuvenation of millet farming, continuously
undermined by the Green Revolution protagonists, is the only way we can ensure our food,
fodder, health, nutrition, livelihood and ecological securities. It is time for us to work
towards an Out of the Box solution.
The National Consultation on Millets, organized by the Millet Network of India and Deccan
Development Society in collaboration with the National Institute for Rural Development
was an effort in this direction. For two days, farmers, activists, academics,
environmentalists, policy makers and scientists sat together to debate and discuss the
ways and means of reinventing millets and put them at the centre of our agrarian policy
space.

III
The publication in your hand is an eloquent summary of the issues discussed, ideas offered
and the actions contemplated in this Consultation. If this document compels the policy
makers, agricultural and development academia and social activists to take a relook at
millets, with a new fascination for them, then the purpose of the National Consultation
will have been achieved. The Hyderabad Declaration on Millets, at the end of this report is
a call for action. The Millet Network of India invites everyone who welcomes the ‘concept
that is millet’ to engage in this action.
Misereor, from Germany and the National Institute for Rural Development deserve our deepest
gratitude for enabling this Consultation to happen. My colleague Ms Cherukuri Jayasri worked
very hard to get this publication out and she deserves my sincere thanks. Yesu and Mayuri
provided the photographs for the publication and my special thanks to them. Ms Kanchi Kohli
who wrote this report and Dr Raghavendra Manvi who edited it have provided us a succinct
document. They merit my earnest thanks. I acknowledge the excellent work done by
Ms Supriya Bhalerao who has designed and printed this publication with a lot of love and care.

Hyderabad P V Satheesh
August 2, 2008 Convenor, MINI [Millet Network of India]
Director, Deccan Development Society

IV
Contents

Background …1

Day 1 - June 5, 2008

Inaugural Session …3
Session 1 - Millets, Food Sovereignty and regeneration of
Rainfed Agriculture …10
Session 2 - Millets, Biodiversity, Ecological farming and
Livelihood Security …18
Network meeting - Maximizing MINI and
Agenda Setting …26

Day 2 – June 6, 2008

Session 3 - Millets and Health/Nutritional Security …31
Session 4 - Millets and Development Agenda …39
Concluding Session …45

Declaration …48

List of Participants … 51

V
 Pearl millet
Millet - Give Name

Millets are truly miracle grains. They can grow on the most marginalized soils - without
irrigation, and with very little or sometimes no external inputs. They are veritable
storehouses of health and nutrition. Besides, millets are also the pivot around which a
vibrant agrobiodiversity survives, wherever it is allowed to survive.

VI
 1

Background

M
illets, witch the Deccan Development Society believes as God’s Own Crops, are truly
wonder grains. They can grow on the most marginalized soils— without irrigation,
and with very little or sometimes no external inputs. They are veritable storehouses
of health and nutrition. Besides, millets are also the pivot around which a vibrant
agrobiodiversity survives, wherever it is allowed to survive.
But unfortunately over the decades, the state policies have progressively eroded both the
millets as well as all the brilliant farming systems they have represented. Consequently,
hundreds of thousands of hectares dedicated to growing millets have degenerated into
cultivable fallows, and their size currently stands at a massive 30 million hectares. The
millet acreage over the last couple of decades has shrunk from 18 million hectares to 9
million hectares, thus depriving the poor of their nutritional food, livelihood, security and
control over their farming.
On the other hand, the recent trend has seen the millets moving away from the poor and
falling into the hands of the rich to serve their elite needs. ITC has already engaged farmers
in AP and Maharashtra in a contract farming arrangement for millet production. It is eyeing
50,000 villages in the country over the next few years for this initiative, ironically funded
by none other than the World Bank.
This move, on the one hand, might be good for millet production. But on the other, it does
something grave: it shifts the control from farmers and the poor to the huge corporates,
and destroys the seed diversity by replacing the local landraces with High Yielding Varieties
(HYVs) and hybrids. It will institutionalize monocultures on lands which always had rich
biodiversity and destroy the last niches of ecological dryland farming, and usher in chemical,
irrigated production of millets. Therefore for us in the civil society, restoring millets to
their past glory and making them the food sovereignty farming of the people of the county
becomes an urgent need.
It is against this background that the initiative, ‘MINI, Millet Network of India’ undertaken
by the Deccan Development Society in October 2007 assumes a great significance. The
Deccan Development Society has been working with millets for the last two decades;
pioneering an Alternative Public Distribution System (APDS) based on millets; creating over
a 100 millet dominant community seed banks; rejuvenating a food culture through food
festivals and an all millet restaurant called Café Ethnic; and continuously putting pressure
on the policy makers to realize the inevitability of falling back on millets.
2
The present consultation was envisaged towards building a larger network of people steadfastly
working with millets or thinking about them, undeterred by their historical neglect. The
broad idea was to put strengths together, to brainstorm and to set an agenda for collective
action. It was also envisioned to look at the culture, cultivation and cuisine of millets and find
out how their profile could be built, to be able to advance the policy framework around
millets.
The workshop had an interesting range of polarized, and yet converging views on the agenda
of millets as well as the strategies to promote them. It also gave the participants a first hand
flavour of millets through the option of millet based drink instead of tea and coffee and a full
breakfast and lunch menu cooked with various millets.

Table 1: Millet Diversity in India

The names of millets have been interchangeably used by speakers in the Consultation
according to what they are called in their region. The table below could be used as a
reference to understand which kind of millet they are referring to.

Common Name Botanical Name Vernacular Names Origin

Little Millet Panicum sumatrense Roth Sama (Telugu, Hindi) India

ex Roem. & Schult
Kodo Millet Paspalum Scrobiculatum L. Arikelu (Telugu), India
Khododhan (Hindi)
Kodara (Sanskrit)
Italian Millet Setaria italica (L.) P. Beavu. Korra (Telugu), China
Kangi (Hindi),
Kanguni (Sanskrit)
Proso Millet Panicum miliaceum L. Varaga (Telugu), China
Chena (Hindi),
Barnyard Millet Echinocloa frumentacea Bontashama/ Oodalu (Telugu) China
Link Sanwa/ Jhangora (Hindi)
Finger Millet Eleusine coracana Gaertn. Ragi/ Tayadalu (Telugu), Africa
Mandua (Hindi),
Rajika (Sanskrit)
Africa
Pearl Millet Pennisetum americanum Gantlu/ Sajjalu (Telugu)
(L.) Leeke Bajra (Hindi),
Varjari (Sanskrit)

Source: Presentation made by K.S. Varaprasad during the workshop

Day One: June 5, 2008
Inaugural Session

T
he women farmers from Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, welcomed the
panel members of the introductory session with specially decorated
millet frames representing the crop diversity of their area. This was followed by a
welcome song. Following this, Radhika Rani of NIRD initiated the programme and requested
P.V. Satheesh to carry forward the proceedings.

Introduction
P. V. Satheesh Director, Deccan Development Society, Hyderabad
P.V. Satheesh began the introduction by explaining the meaning of the song the women
farmers rendered before the gathering. The song, he said “takes us through all the
rain bearing stars known as Kaartes in the local language.
Different crops are sown in different Kaartes and therefore the
song is a veritable list of agrobiodiversity in the region. It is also
a reflection of the fantastic knowledge people have of their
ecosystems and environments”. He added that “millets are
crops which are part of people’s cultures and folklore.”
“It is working with millet
farmers for the last twenty
years that has made DDS
believe that millets are no
less than God’s own crops.
What is important to note is that millets respond to
the multiple food and farming challenges of today’s
times, including that of climate change. They can grow
in harsh environments, with no external inputs, and
they can be depended on to make the farmers self-
reliant enough to escape the debt trap. Millets, then,
are crops of life unlike some other crops, such as
cotton, which has spelled death as experiences in
Maharashtra indicate.”
“The women farmers of Deccan Andhra also call millets
Crops of Truth (Satyam Pantalu). These crops give them six securities: food, fodder,
livelihoods, nutrition, health, and ecological. The film by the Community Media Trust,
 4
which comes next will highlight these aspects.”
“There is a need to understand that a crop which has so much to offer has been neglected
severely over the decades. Nearly 10 million hectares of millet farms have been rendered
fallow over the last three decades. This needs to be analyzed. This has happened as more
and more area has come under rice and wheat cultivation. That this should be stopped is
no longer an issue but a clear mandate. It is critical to look at how the promotion of certain
kinds of crops has led to this scenario.
The loss of millets is not just an agricultural loss, but a civilisational loss.
“At another level, there is an increased corporate interest in millets. There is news that a
private company has bought 50,000 acres of land to put it under millet cultivation. There
is also the growing research around millets in the United States of America (USA) in order
to promote millets as crops to counter the climate change crisis.” These are trends that
point to a danger of corporatisation of millets, the crops that were seen till recently as the
Farmers Food Sovereignty Crop. Therefore the civil society must come together the
privatization of the last public domain in agriculture.
He announced that there would be two presentations; First, a
film by the DDS Community Media Trust; and second, a study by
“Millets have a great
Vatturi Srinivas on millet agro-ecosystems in different parts of
answer to all kinds of
the country. He said that a summary of the study had already
crisis, including that of
been passed on to the participants.
water, nutrition and
climate change. These “This Consultation has brought together a range of people who
crops are an ecological have been working on millets for several decades. There are
bonus to millet farmer leaders, small farmers from Deccan Andhra, and sensitive
farmers.” agriculture and nutritional scientists who have a very important
- P.V.Satheesh role to play. There are also scientists from ICRISAT, who have
joined in for the first time.”
He then introduced the panel members of the introductory session. He said that the
Commissioner of Agriculture, D. Srinivasulu could not come as he had to be present
elsewhere. Representing him was Mr. M. Subramanium, Joint Director (Fertilizers),
Government of Andhra Pradesh. He requested Mr. Subramanium to carry the message of
the workshop to his department, so that it could wage initiatives to nurture the orphaned
millets. He further said that he could see light at the end of the tunnel because both the
chief minister and the agriculture minister “are reported to be avid lovers of millets!”
Satheesh also welcomed the other panel members, Dr R. Hampaiah, Chair, AP Biodiversity
Board and Mr B.K. Sinha, Director General, National Institute of Rural Development,
Government of India’s apex rural development academy. He appreciated the fact that the
NIRD had come forward to collaborate on this important topic. Being a top Rural Development
institution, “their participation is a blessing.”
He then described the origins of MINI, which he saw as a collective dream. He said that
“some people in this room such as Dr Nammalwar from the Tamil Nadu Organic Movement,
thought about this along with DDS 10 years back. Since then it has taken nine years for it to
get going.” Satheesh acknowledged the role of all those who were part of envisaging the
 5
need for a network, and then subsequently taking it forward in the last one year. He
concluded by saying that “we can breathe a new life into the finest crop that the human
civilization has evolved.”

Millets the Miracle Grains

Screening of a film by Community Media Trust
The film, through vibrant visuals and a strong commentary, puts forth the message that
millets are not just food, but are an integral pat of the culture of thousands of communities
all over the country. In the vast Indian millet landscape, one can find a range of culinary
delights. Each region has its own variation of the millet food theme. Further, any food that
is culturally so integrated into the lives of communities must be made available to them.
Development experts argue that denying such foods can only be termed as political
oppression.
It then portrays the vast dryland belt that stretches across the Deccan plateau, Northern
Karnataka, Marathwada, the deserts of Rajasthan, the tribal areas in central India and the
Himalayas. This is the home of millets, where they are the mainstay of agriculture, diet
and the cultural systems of the regions. The film highlights how millets carry the promise
of mitigating the miseries of malnutrition prevalent ever so widely in the country. And to
crown it all, they can also be trusted to ease the fodder crisis that is plaguing the fate of
our livestock.
The film vehemently states that “wanting incentives to farm millets, nearly four million
hectares have been left fallow by farmers. Such a fallowisation for a country that never
stops talking about the need to feed its billions is nothing short of a scandal.”
But the neglect of millet goes on, while its disdained seed continues to hold on to its sturdy
spirit of independence, and grow wherever it puts down roots without much water or the
pampering of the status grains. It not only needs less water, but less time, too, to adapt
itself effectively to climate change.
In sum, the film rolls on to give clear evidence that millets show a way out of our food,
fodder, nutrition and water crises.
It concludes by calling millets “miracle grains.”

Millets for Agricultural Development

M. Subramaniam, Joint Director, Fertilizers (in place of
Commissioner for Agriculture), Government of Andhra
Pradesh
Mr. M. Subramaniam Joint Director, Fertilizers,,Government
of Andhra Pradesh, who was representing Mr. D. Srinivasulu,
Commissioner of Agriculture, began by thanking DDS for
taking the initiative, and said that he knew DDS as a group
‘which is enlightening women farmers in Medak district.’
The organization, he said is ‘also working towards
encouraging the age old crops like Jowar {Sorghum) and
other millets being cultivated in Telangana and Rayalseema
where irrigation facilities are not available.’
6
‘There is very little land under millet cultivation. The Andhra Pradesh government is trying to
educate farmers through Rytu Chetan Yatras for which they are also inviting MLAs and MPs.
Through this, the farmers are being informed about various packages which they can avail
of and also about credits. These are essentially for rainfed areas.”
“In order to encourage millets, the government is giving Improved and High Yielding Varieties
(HYVs) to the farmers. There are several varieties that have been developed earlier, including
the ones for Ragi (Finger Millet), Bajra( Pearl millet) and Jowar (Sorghum). It is being done
through seed corporations. The government is also carrying out Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) demonstrations and Farmer Field Schools in Rayalseema and Telangana areas of Andhra
Pradesh.”
He promised that that the Department of Agriculture would try to incorporate the decisions
of the workshop wherever possible. He assured the participants that “they are with the
millet farmers.”

Millets as Biodiversity Imperative

R. Hampaiah, Chairperson, Andhra Pradesh Biodiversity Board
R. Hampaiah observed that it augured well for the participants that they were meeting on
5th June, the World Environment Day. He hoped that the day would inspire MINI to seek
answers to the problems of food shortage and climate change.
He said that there was a time when millets were grown
across the country. But following Independence, the
agricultural policy shifted towards rice and wheat. There
was a clash between a rainfed and irrigated agriculture, as
a result of which millets were relegated to the background.
At the same time there was a cultural craze for adopting
western systems. As a result of this, families forgot about
millets and there also developed a social stigma around
them. People started believing that millets “are eaten only
by the poor. The consumption went down.”
“However today with the increase in ailments like diabetes,
millets are back in focus and limelight. People are beginning
to eat millets again under medical prescription.”
He declared that the future would see more of millets and
“Millets will have a less of rice and wheat. “The future is going to be a millet
bright future. The era era. It is going to trace a full circle. Millets are very valuable
of millets will come and need to be preserved both in situ and ex situ for the
soon.” future. Also they need to be saved from countries and
- R.Hampaiah corporations who are increasingly trying to patent them.”
Hampaiah took the example of Sona Masuri, a rice variety
on which a Malaysian company has taken a trademark. “This
is being countered. Such an instance may also happen with millets. We must ensure that
all these millet varieties are registered through mechanisms like DNA printing, so that they
do not go into the hands of other countries.
 7
How do I see Millets as a Dryland Organic Farmer
Bharme Gowda, President, Organic Farming Association of India
Bharme Gowda spoke to the participants about his experiences and perceptions as a dryland
millet growing farmer. He stated that he started cultivation in 1973, and against the advice
and warning of his father decided to take up chemical
farming with cash crops. During that time most farmers went
in for hybrid seeds and high tech crops and quit cultivating
millets. It was only after 15 years, in 1988, that he realized
that he was wrong and then reverted back to organic farming.
“As we lost millet crops, animal health also deteriorated.
The food for the cattle was also made from millets and
gram. Today, farmers are dependent on company-produced
cattle feeds.”
He observed that it was not the amount of wheat or rice in
the government godowns which constituted the benchmark
of food security, but the stock of grains that farmers could
call their own. He said that farmers in his area “are able to
store millet grains for two years through simple, indigenous,
“Even at the age of 62,
non-chemical techniques and can rely on it in case of a
I can carry two pots of
drought.”
water on my shoulder,
He further added that irrigation and cash crops “are reasons something which a
for farmers’ debt and death. It also leads to degradation of young man of 20 today
environment, soil and water. In contrast, growing millets is finds difficult. This is
linked with special foods for different festivals and other because of the food I
rituals representing a direct link with culture and lifestyle.” consumed as I grew up,
Bharme Gowda was emphatic in saying that there was an which included millets.
interconnection between people, plants and the land they Today’s food does not
come from, “so the ideal grains to grow are the ones that have nutrition but only
chemicals.”
are specific to the region.”
- Bharme Gowda
He made a request to all the participants to propagate the
idea of millets. “In drylands, millets are good yielding-crops
with just a little bit of green manure, even when there is no rain. There is a need to use
farmer’s methodology, and not the one in the books of the agricultural department.”

Remarks by the Chair

B.K. Sinha, Director General, National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad
B.K. Sinha initiated his remarks by confessing that he was the most recent convert to
millets due to a medical requirement. For him, “this workshop is an eye opener.” He said
that he came from Champaan District in Bihar, where Mahatma Gandhi launched his Indigo
Campaign against colonial exploitation of India’s resources. He also recalled the availability
of a variety of millets in his village, from his childhood. Millets were part of people’s food
cycle. “But today they are used as fodder and not as food.”
8
He then drew attention to Ayurveda which prescribes a different diet for each of the 365
days in a year, and which also includes a number of millets. “The most prosperous Indian
community, the Marwaris till date take a piece of a Bajra roti before starting their meal.
This was a regular practice earlier, but today it has become just a ritual.”
He said, “Rice and Wheat are in deep crisis. The state of Punjab where farmers have been
cultivating food crops for the last 5000-7000 years, the situation has turned so sour that it
has got everybody worked up. Indiscriminate use of ferlilizers and heavy irrigation has
stressed the soil beyond redemption. This distressing
situation has also been noticed by the international bodies.”
In this context, Mr Sinha mentioned, “the statement of U.K.
Alagh which states that the government should be
concerned, as large tracts of land are no longer under
cultivation, as people are not able to do so.”
He said that as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Fertilizers,
he used to notice that three major fertilizers were being
promoted and not the 12 secondary ones. “Excess use of
fertilizers leads to depletion of carbon content in soil. This
huge crisis is reflected in the figures of high consumption of
fertilizers.”
B.K. Sinha narrated his experience of visiting Barah village
in Yavatmal, Maharashtra and watching the farming practices of Subhash Sharma. He hoped
that all such practices would be researched.

Women farmers in inaugural session of the workshop

 9
He finally outlined some of the future plans of NIRD and sought the participation of DDS in it.
The plans envisaged upgrading the technology park at the NIRD to include millet farming
related technologies. He said that the technology part would be upgraded to a Technology
Bank to bring together technologies relevant to various fields of rural farming.
Another future idea was to set up Village Grain Banks in tribal areas, because a major cost
of PDS was transportation. The grain banks would devise a system of local acquisition and
distribution.
He finally sought cooperation, help and partnership for the proposed initiatives.

Vote of Thanks
A.C. Jena, National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad
A.C. Jena thanked all the panelists of the introductory session
and also the delegates from all parts of India. “This is a very
original and potential topic for the marginalized sections and
crops of India,” he added. He summarized the key focus of all
the four presentations highlighting the government schemes, the
chronology of the neglect, the revival of millets as well as their
relevance for the dryland farmers. “Clearly, the promotion of
millets will help solve several food, fodder and nutritional security
issues in the country”.

Workshop in progress
 Session I

Millets, Food Sovereignty & Regeneration of Rainfed

Agriculture
Facilitation by Ardhendu Chatterjee, DRCSC, Kolkata

Millets-Future of Food and Farming in India (Presentation of a study for IDRC’s

Using Diversity Programme)
Vatturi Srinivas, Independent Researcher

V
atturi Srinivas, in his presentation highlighted the findings of the study, “Millet-
Future of Food and Farming in India” undertaken as part of the project, Promoting
Peace and Food Security by Strengthening Biodiversity based Livelihoods, which
was funded by South Asian Network on Food, Ecology and Culture (SANFEC) in 2006-07.
The purpose of the study was to bring into focus ‘neglected crops’ such as millets, which
have been the subject of concern for a large number of communities in South Asia. The
issue has gathered additional importance in the context of globalization which is pressuring
our government to switch from traditional to technology-
based agriculture. The change, powered by the strategies
popularized by the Green Revolution, has triggered events
that have taken a heavy toll of the rural poor. The profit-
oriented technology based agriculture, while compromising
the food sovereignty and nutritional security of our farmers,
is also endangering the ecological robustness of our
agriculture. The study also documented the ground-level,
traditional rain-fed farming practices that demonstrate the
art of using nature-friendly biodiversity techniques, with a
special focus on millet based cropping systems.
He then went on to describe what kinds of crops are
considered as millets. Millets primarily constitute a diverse
group of small grains. These are usually categorised under ‘Coarse Cereals’ in India and are
classified into Major millets and Minor millets (or Small millets). Examples of these were
shared.
 11
The presentation highlighted that the study area comprised the arid ecosystem in Bapp
region in Rajasthan; Semi-Arid regions of Zaheerabad region in Andhra Pradesh;
Satyamangalam in Tamil Nadu; and finally the sub-humid area of Uppari Nagani in
Uttarakhand.

Millet based highly diverse cropping systems

Sarr and Baranaja’ in Himalayan Gharwal, where traditional rainfed farming is
practiced on the hilltops and hill slopes, and where along with Finger millet,
Foxtail millet, Barnyard millet and Proso millet are cultivated.

‘Saat dhan’ system in Rajasthan, where farmers with their intimate knowledge
of soils manage to cultivate sandy and saline soils in this region, and where Pearl
millet based mixed cropping system predominates.

‘Pannendu pantalu’ in the Zaheerabad region of Andhra Pradesh, where along
with Sorghum, several Small millets are cultivated.

‘Ragi pairu’ in Tamil Nadu, where along with Finger millet, a range of Small
millets are traditionally cultivated.

Following a detailed description of the kinds of diverse cropping systems in the various
regions and the methodology adopted for the study, Vatturi Srinivas presented the key
findings of the study, which include:

The indigenous food farming system is an integration of crops, farm animals and wild
or uncultivated plants, which as a ‘total system’, minimises the risks posed by harsh
climatic conditions that are common to rainfed regions, and which ensures that farming
families are food and nutritionally secure.

The climatic adaptability of millet is such that about 8 species of millets— Sorghum,
Finger millet, Pearl millet, Foxtail millet, Barnyard millet, Proso millet, Kodo millet
and Little millet are cultivated across different agro-ecological habitats in India,
either as Primary or Allied crops in combination with several other crop species/
varieties.

Farming communities have deliberately selected and manipulated a range of millet
species, an approach that reflects a higher degree of genetic variability.

The local criteria for the quality of millets are primarily based on three aspects of
local crops/ varieties. These are (i) Agronomic characteristics; (ii) Food and nutritional
potential, and (iii) Socio-cultural aspects like rituals and festivals.

Millet based farming also enables farmers to suitably mix crops to minimise the risk of
total crop failure during drought conditions. It reflects farmer’s confidence and faith
in the hardiness and productive capacity of millets.

The natural tolerance of millets to storage pests and diseases are considered an
added advantage, especially by women.

Farmers have evolved elaborate techniques for preserving food grains and have gained
incredible expertise with respect to the post-harvest and storage of grains. The know-
12
how of post harvest activities is immense among farm women, who are frequently
found threshing, storing, drying, grinding, pounding or sifting food grains at home
throughout the year, apart from other work on farmlands.

Seed selection and storing practices are still in practice, and are deeply interlinked with
the socio-cultural norms. In spite of rampant changes in the traditional cropping patterns,
several millet landraces continue to remain under cultivation, as they are essential for
ritualistic purposes.

There is a distinct declining trend in the traditional millet based cropping system, and
large and medium farmers are overtly inclined towards mono-cropping of non-food
cash crops. At the same time most of the small and marginal farmers continue to sow
millet based cropping systems.
The presentation also looked at the changing farm scenario, where in recent times, small
and marginal farmers are compelled to alter the cropping patterns to reap cash benefits
over food/ fodder, benefits desired due to economic pressures, market conditions, disabling
of local livelihoods, dwindling livestock population, and the small size of land holding.
As its concluding points the presentation highlighted:

It is imperative for a country like India to encourage dryland farming of food crops
such as millets.

A specialised focus should be on rainfed regions as it continues to accommodate a
large number of people (45% of India’s population lives in a Semi-arid habitat).

The policy thrust should shift to a habitat-specific decentralised ‘agro-diversity based
approach’ focused towards peoples’ food and nutritional security at the household-
level, rather than the centralised ‘technology based approach.’
He then presented a range of challenges and opportunities ahead to deal with the issue of
millets.

Farmers Movement for Regeneration of Rainfed Agriculture

Vijay Jawandhia, Shetkari Sanghatana, (All India Kisan Samanvay Samiti), Maharashtra
Vijay Jawandhia said that unless the Government of India
took measures to protect the millets, they would have a
hard time gaining ground. He said that not enough attention
was being paid to the fate of non-irrigated agriculture in
India. Even while the loan waivers are being doled out, there
is no mention of the non-irrigated farmer. And to further
complicate the situation, all the subsidies are for fertilizers
and for irrigation farmers. He said that he came from an
area where Jowar was the staple food. The area had a unique
traditional system of saving Jowar beneath the earth for
three years. All these practices have been lost. Our forefathers
were very wise as they rotated cotton and Jowar crop
cultivation each year. Jowar is a shallow rooted crop, and
cotton a deep rooted one, and both complemented each other in alternate years in terms of
 13
soil nutrition. The farmers earlier were satisfied with this natural system. But it is greed
that ate into the soil. Crops like Jowar or sorghum began to be neglected, and so also was
animal husbandry. He said that there was an urgent need for direct subsidy and economic
support to make rainfed farming possible. He advocated a policy initiative from the government
in this direction. Referring to the visit of the Prime Minister, Manohan Singh to his village on
30th June 2006, he said that he had personally requested him to grant a subsidy of Rs.2000 to
farmers cultivating Jowar.
He then calculated the current subsidies that are given for sugarcane and presented it to the
participants. “For each acre of cultivation, six bags of fertilizers are required. If one compares
the global prices of these fertilizers to the subsidized cost at which it is made available, it
amounts to Rs.9000 subsidy per acre of sugarcane cultivation.” He questioned as to why the
government was not being so generous with regard to millets! Millet is not a poor man’s
food, it is a nutritious food. While only 3-4 kg of seeds is required per acre of millets, wheat
on the contrary requires 40 kg of seed. Therefore, the economics of farming demands that
we grow more millet. There is a crisis today when food prices are soaring in India and across
the globe. There is inflation and if a producer does not get returns, how long can he/she go
on producing food? How can we continue to import and distribute ’cheap food’. Just imagine
if the farmers of Punjab and Haryana stop producing food or one removes all the subsidies
from farming. What will happen? It is only millets which can continue without subsidies.”
He said that the non-irrigated farmer would continue to stand his ground, but there wasn’t
enough support to hold and comfort him. “All the benefits are for the irrigated farmer. Even
as the fertilizer and food prices are rising, 60% of the land remains under non-irrigated
agriculture. The message is clear; there is a critical need to support millets if Indian agriculture
needs to survive.”

Seed Banks Experiment in Eastern Maharashtra

Balnath Sonawane, Lokpanchayat, Maharashtra
Balanath Sonavane presented the work of Lokpanchayat in Maharashtra. He first shared with
the participants the context and area of their work in Western Maharashtra and how the
organization goes about engaging with the farmers in the region. Lokpanchayat is working
with watershed development; Krushakpanchayat; women’s
empowerment; women’s social security program; Liberate
School Project and Rural Young Professional Training Program.
He then discussed the Lokpanchayat’s geographical zones of
work and the hurdles in their sustainable agriculture
programme. For instance, in the hilly areas there are high
slopes and degraded lands. In the drought prone regions there
are problems of migration, deforestation, lack of biomass,
lack of organic inputs, scarcity of animals and water. For
river built areas the issues are related to salinity of land due
to over irrigation and poor quality of soil because of chemical
practice.
14
The major activities of Lokpanchayat vis-à-vis Biodiversity conservation include seed
collection in 60 villages where 500 farmers were approached for this purpose. 121 types
of indigenous seeds were collected and checked for germination. He said that “the
organisation has succeeded in conserving the seeds of many varieties of grains, pulses,
vegetables and oil seeds. They are being distributed by the Women’s Self Help Groups
(SHGs). A seed bank has also been established in Sangamner at the block level and is
being looked after by the Seed Management Committee of the village community. Further,
Lokpanchayat has established a partnership with a private company, ITC to bring 300
acres of land under organic farming. This will help farmers to connect with the market
through which they can economically benefit,” he observed.
Sonavane indicated that some varieties of millets have been totally lost in the area which
includes grains known locally as Batu and Khandia. There is no knowledge about this
even in the agricultural universities. These grains are very nutritious and were used
extensively earlier. He concluded by outlining the future plans of Lokpanchayat which
included setting up a company or an NGO with a sustainable structure for farmers.

Disappearing of Millets, Shrinking Food Security

Jogi Naidu, Sarada Valley Development Samiti, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Jogi Naidu began his presentation by stating that all the millets are in drylands. There is
a need for dryland agriculture because it helps in food security, represents diversity, and
allows for labour employment. Dryland agriculture also
supports healthy nutritional food as well as cultural
sovereignty.
He observed that despite the awareness of the importance
of millets for food and fodder, “millets are still finding it
hard to retain their place; and it is critical to ask why
this is happening! There is also a difference in the old
and the new ways of looking at the millets. Many look at
it more like medicine than food. Earlier they were staple
food, but now they have become fashion food, so they
are not eaten on a regular basis.” He wondered why
‘millets are available now only in supermarkets!’
He said that there are various reasons for the
disappearance of millets in the Vishakapatnam area where
“There is no doubt that he works. These include massive plantation of Casuarina
the day of millets will by the Forest Department and also plantations of cashew.
come, but meanwhile
30% of the drylands of the region are occupied by
the land use is rapidly
Casuarina. Other reasons include the use of land for
changing, and
housing and increase in urbanization. Finally, the
therefore there is an
urgency to push for
promotion of piggery has impacted the cultivation of
millets.” millets. It is a capitalistic system being promoted.
- Jogi Naidu He then gave the example of how his organization had
begun work with a shepherd community village on
 15
Alternate Public Distribution System (APDS) to bring 30 acres out of 116 acres under
millet cultivation. However, a doctor from outside the area bought 8 acres of land in
the area and planted Casuarina on it. The land in this region is being grabbed for
various reasons including Special Economic Zones (SEZs), real estate etc.
Another reason for seed disappearance is also the lack of storage facilities. He said
that they were trying to adapt the DDS model in their area of work.

Millets and Food Sovereignty in Action

P. V. Satheesh, Convenor, AP Alliance for Food Sovereignty, Andhra Pradesh
P.V. Satheesh began his presentation by clearly stating that “the second green revolution
being planned for India is a recipe for disaster.” He added that since the 1990s, with
the advent of liberalization, 50% of the millet growing
areas were lost due to the structural adjustment
programmes that impacted PDS. “When it comes to food
production in the country, Planning Commission expects
91% of the requirement to come from wheat and rice and
only 9% from millets. In the period spanning 1965–1995,
the amount of millet cropping area lost was: Sorghum:
35%, Little Millet: nearly 60%; Finger Millet: 30% and Pearl
Millet: 16%. All the millets together lost 50% of the
cropping area during the period corresponding to the
processes of Structural Adjustment Programmes and
Globalization.
In the ninth and tenth plan for the country, the allotment
of grain share given to rice was 42%; Wheat, 35% and coarse grains only 14%.
“Strangely, a major contributor to this problem is PDS. This is because it concentrates
only on two grains: wheat and rice, and that too from rich soils grown with subsidized
irrigation. These have a ready market and assured prices unlike for millets. In contrast,
millet farming does not have any assured irrigation, and no crop insurance. Cheap rice
alters food cultures and shrinks markets for millets. Even if farmers want to cultivate
millets there will be nervousness in store for them.”
P.V. Satheesh further said “In rainfed areas, farming has been abandoned and large
areas have been turned into fallows.” He read out several figures to highlight the
disparity with regard to land acreage between rice/wheat and millets.
Quoting from a Planning Commission report, detailing planners’ concerns, P.V.Satheesh
said that the prescription it offered was worse than the malady! While lamenting the
awful conditions of FCI godowns he said, “half of Food Corporation of India’s (FCI)
grain stocks is at least two years old and 30% of it is between 2-4 years old. In fact,
some grains are even 16 years old.” He further said that the monitoring of the grains
was weak and that both transparency and accountability were much below par. But the
report goes on to state that “coarse grains are basic commodities bought by poor and
are available to the poor at low prices. Therefore, there is no additional need to
 16
supply them through PDS and give them food subsidy.”
He then presented the work of DDS in the direction of food sovereignty, which included
the principles of local production, storage and distribution and support for manure and
timely farming operation. He then highlighted the details of the DDS’s APDS programme
also known as Community Grain Fund. “The result is that in the very first season, in 30
villages employment days created per village was 7967. The employment generated/
acre was 90 person days. The total income for 1000 hectares is Rs. 110 lakhs.”
The presentation then brought to light the nutritional content of different food crops
(All values per 100 gm of edible portion), with millets surpassing the rest with higher
protein, mineral, calcium and iron content. He finally drew a comparison of the national
PDS system and the APDS of Deccan Andhra. “The mainstream PDS is beneficial to
irrigated, resource rich areas where women and local communities are marginalized.
Whereas the APDS was working in resource poor, rainfed areas, was highly decentralised
and controlled by the women and local communities who were central to the
programme.” He concluded with a statistical report on the achievements of the APDS
programme of DDS, spread over 90 villages.

Chairperson’s Remarks
Ardhendu Chatterjee, DRCSC,Kolkata
Ardhendu Chatterjee summarized the key points of the session and also highlighted
additional issues. He observed that while it was heartening to see the participants of
the workshop engaged so devoutly in addressing the concerns
“This is a country of the marginalized communities, it was equally sad to be
where we have a spe- bearing witness to the glaring disparities between the rich
cial skill to subsidise and the poor. “It is unfortunate that in a country that boasts
what is economically quite a few names in the list of
beneficial for a few world’s richest people, nearly
and ecologically and half the population is dying from
socially destructive hunger!”
otherwise. Even within “The question is about turning
rice, the low land one food into a commodity. In a
cultivated during the country where drinking water is
rainy season is not sub- scarce, we are using more and
sidized. Cultivating 1 more groundwater for agricu-
hectare of rice outside lture, and that too for the wrong
of the rainy season re- reasons. The intelligentsia of the
quires water that is country must wake up to the fact
equivalent to what that flawed parameters are
would be consumed by being applied by vested interests
100 families for a to measure agricultural production. Farmers need to be
whole year.” empowered to resist the sinister moves of the profit-seekers,
- Ardhendu Chhaterjee who first converted oil into food, and are now trying to reverse
the process, by converting food into oil.”
 17
He further added that the government behaves in three typical ways. First, if something
misfires, then the government is quick to say that it is sad and regrettable, but there
was no choice, and that it was all done in the public interest. Second, it promptly kicks
off a blame-game, and gets busy pointing accusing fingers at others. Third, it conjures
up chic names to seduce the populace. A blatant example of this is the way plantations
of Casuarina or eucalyptus have been carried out under what is termed as social forestry
programmes. These are neither beneficial to the community nor can they be called
forests. These trees can grow without social cooperation.
“The government’s commitments lack credibility,” he said, while expressing his fears
for the future of millets.

Millet farmers listen to the proceedings

 Session II

Millets, Biodiversity, Ecological farming and

Livelihood Security
Facilitation by K.S. Varaprasad, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources
(NBPGR), Andhra Pradesh

Millets in Agrobiodiversity Promotion for Rural Development

K. Siva Prasad, Principal Specialist cum Coordinator, Action for Food Production
(AFPRO), Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
K. Siva Prasad began by appreciating the work of DDS, and said that AFPRO has been
collaborating with the organization. He then went on to look at the national and global
challenge of the food crisis, and said:
“The promotion of millets is a good strategy to meet the requirement of food production.
More land needs to come under millet cultivation, but unfortunately, this is not happening.
It is important to see the issue in a holistic manner. Today, urban development is being
encouraged at the cost of rural development. Millet farmers are increasingly shifting to
cotton. The challenge is how to push millets into the mainstream policy agenda. While the
DDS is at it, other people and sections need to exert more effort.”
“At a time when the ecosystem has come under strain and so much agricultural land is
going fallow, it is essential for NGOs to network and address the paradoxes of the farm
situation. Sustainable development should become the priority issue.”

Millets in Ecological Farming for Livelihood Security

G. Nammalvar, General Secretary, Tamzhina Vazhviyal Multiversity, Tamil Nadu.
G. Nammalwar, in his presentation, shed light on how for thousands of years agriculture
was practiced through biological processes and with an understanding of ecological
phenomena. He said that according to a Russian scientist, at least 356 species of
domesticated crops and 326 species of their wild relatives are believed to have originated
in India.
 19
He said that unfortunately in the second half of the 20th century, industrialized agriculture
was introduced in the country through the Green Revolution, which in its wake brought
along the introduction of hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers,
pesticides, weedicides and machines. In contrast to this,
traditional agriculture was self-regenerative and focused
on village livelihoods along with food, fodder, manure, fuel,
fibre, tools and implements, raw materials as well as
medicines. But the Green Revolution made farmers depend
on costly external inputs and pushed for production of only
two grains, rice and wheat under irrigated conditions. This,
and the dependence on external inputs have upset the
ecological balance, and have rendered agriculture unviable
for farmers, thus pushing them to commit suicides in despair.
Quoting a Tamil saying, popular among the farm-women, he
said that they followed a simple formula with regard to crop
production. They believed that a farmer should feed three beings: soil, cattle and humans.
After the crop is harvested, its bottom (root and stub) must go to the soil, the middle
(stalk) to the cattle and the top (grain) to the farmer’s house. “Any miss in this link of food
chain will adversely affect the ecosystem, and this is what precisely has happened through
the Green Revolution.”
Drawing attention to the report of the National Farmer’s Commission, he stated that the
fertile irrigated lands under rice and wheat had become unproductive because of the
application of fertilizers. He elaborated that the unintended environmental consequences
of chemical agriculture had resulted in soil and water contamination, food poisoning and
degradation. “Neglect of rainfed cultivation, which constitutes 60% of our land, has resulted
in loss of food, fodder and income. The final result is malnutrition and starvation. At
present the food crisis is threatening the whole world. The World Bank report says that
about 850 million people across the world are already hungry and the soaring food prices
will push as many as 100 million more people into hunger.”
“In this context, the work of DDS in improving the livelihood security of resource poor
people by reviving the cultivation of millets needs to be looked at. Through this, there is a
need to rediscover traditional, ecological and nutritionally valuable grains and vegetable
varieties. The contribution of millets, combined with ecological practices, have improved
human health and reduced medical expenses. There is an opportunity to establish a nation-
wide network on millets. Sustainability depends on the cultivation of millets which will
also improve livelihood security.”

Millets in Ecological Farming for Livelihood Security

Robert Leo, Coordinator, Keystone Foundation Udhagamandalam, Tamil Nadu
Robert Leo shared information with others on the work of his organization in addressing
the nutritional status of the women and children. He said that the traditional millets of his
region are Tenai (Italian millet) Setaria italica ; Samia (Little millet) Panicum sumatrense;
Varagu (Finger millet) Eleusine corocana; Panivaragu(Panicum miliaceum); Guthiravali
(Echinochol colona); Kambu (Pearl millet), Sorghum vulgare; Chollam (sorghum), Sorghum
20
bicolor. The biodiversity of the millet region was also highlighted through pie diagrams.
He expressed concern over land going out of people’s hands. “Traditional land is an asset
which needs to be retrieved, and protected from erosion.
Soil health needs to be maintained.”
Leo further highlighted the various ways in which Keystone
Foundation was promoting mixed cropping practices and
preparation of bio-inputs to enhance productivity. He also
spoke about diversity in traditional seeds, storages and
technologies. The forward linkage initiatives taken up by
the organization include organizing traditional food festivals
to revive tastes; value additions and recipes to enhance
usage; preparing posters for information; technological
interventions for better efficiency and setting up of green
shops and cultural corners for revenues.
“In future, the efforts of the organization will include marketing with exclusive Participatory
Guarantee System (PGS) labeling; incorporating millet supply into the PDS for tribal areas
in Tamil Nadu; promoting millet sale as a health food sector initiative and finally improving
intake level amongst local people and school children.”

Biodiversity in Millets
H.D. Upadhyaya, Principal Scientist, Genetic Resources expert, International Crops
Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics [ICRISAT], Hyderabad
H.D. Upadhyay began his presentation by indicating that he was going to be talking about
the research aspect of millets. He assured the participants that the scientific community
was not a silent spectator to the depletion of biodiversity. Germplasm was collected and
accessions were saved ex situ. He highlighted various examples of the same. According to
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO:1998) figures, over 6 million ex-situ germplasm
accessions exist and are being conserved in 1308 genebanks worldwide. 10% are held in

Table 2: Millets germplasm at ICRISAT gene bank

Crop Active collection Base collection Source countries

Pearl millet 21,594 17,670 50
Finger millet 5,949 4,620 24
Foxtail millet 1,535 1,054 26
Proso millet 842 576 30
Little millet 466 384 5
Kodo millet 658 630 2
Barnyard millet 743 487 9
 21
trust by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centers’
genebanks.
He presented a list of the most important millets and said that millets are used in several
food preparations, including unleavened flat breads (chapatti); fermented breads (Kisra,
injera, dosa etc.); porridge; mudde or dumpling; biscuits, snacks, malt and opaque beer.
Millet stalks are used as fodder and for thatching. He also presented data on the high
nutritional value of millets.
The presentation then looked at the role of millets in sustainable agriculture. It is because
of their short life cycle and wide adaptation that millets play an important role in sustainable
rainfed agriculture. They can be used as catch or relay crops and can be grown up to an
altitude of 3000 m.a.s.l. Further, due to their long storage life, millets serve as reserve
food during the time of food shortage.
However, the reason for non-cultivation of millets is because it is not as remunerative as
the other major crops, and further there is a lack of improved cultivars. There is non-
availability of suitable technology and also the lack of organized crop improvement programs.
Millet farmers are also not in a good socio-economic position.
Updadhyay then looked at the details and qualities of the different kinds of millets including
pearl millets, finger millet, foxtail millet, Kodo millet, Proso millet, little millet and Barnyard
millet.
Among other things, the presentation highlighted the global distribution of germplasm
samples (1974 – 2007) with details of the number samples and the number of recipient
countries. The details are as follows:

Table 3: Global Distribution of Millet Germplam Samples (ICRISAT)

Crop Number of samples Recipient countries

Pearl millet 143,107 79
Finger millet 31,400 49
Foxtail millet 10,937 46
Proso millet 5,339 36
Little millet 2,111 27
Kodo millet 2,029 25
Barnyard millet 2,514 28

Following this, the presentation highlighted the use of mini-core collections by the National
Agriculture Research System (NARS)-India to identify new sources of important traits of
millets. Promising accessions have been identified in the finger millet core collection,
evaluated at Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. This
includes, seed yield (2 accessions); fodder yield (7 accessions); early maturity (2 accessions);
Basal tillers (1 accession); and High inflorescence length and width (7 accessions).
22
The presentation concluded with the following points:

Despite their importance, millets have remained under-exploited and under-researched
crops until recently.

Conservation of biodiversity of millets is an important objective at ICRISAT and
important priority in the CGIAR system.

ICRISAT research on germplasm diversity assessment and core collection development
has provided means to enhance the use of genetic resources in pearl millet, finger
millet and foxtail millet.

Crop improvement programs need to be developed for the food security of the poorest
of the poor.

Status and Approaches for Millet Biodiversity Conservation and Rights

Protection in the Context of Ecological Farming and Livelihood Security:
K S Varaprasad, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Andhra Pradesh

K.S.Varaprasad observed that the millet situation was not as bad as it was presented. He
said that a good amount of work is going on to improve the
quality of millets, especially in the NARS programme. He
then gave an overview of millets-species, wild relatives,
and land races. Further, he presented full details and names
of the small millets varieties in NARS.
The presentation also highlighted the nutritional status of
millets (Per 100gm of edible portion), and the need for the
conservation of small millets’ germplasm.
He concluded his presentation by airing a few issues for
discussion of the group. These included the need for:

In-situ on-farm conservation of millet biodiversity.

Documentation of traditional ethnic products for possible GI protection and organized
marketing.

Improved/ farmer’s varieties seed supply chain.

Procurement prices for millet crops.

Inclusion of millet grains in the PDS.

Promoting millets as certified organic products.

Revivals of innovative mixed/ relay cropping systems.

Rich gene source exploration and protection.

Therapeutic foods commercialization.

Soil health revival and eco-system sustainability.
 23
Open House Discussion
Vijay Jawandhia initiated the open house discussions by agreeing with Varaprasad that it
was important to discuss what they should do to be able to put pressure on the policy-
makers. He added that millets had been promoted during the food shortage in 1970s by
agencies like the Ford Foundation. But they were hybrid varieties, so the farmers could not
maintain grain banks. They had to depend on outside sources for seeds, and that was not
good for their morale, because it compromised their control over their lives. He asserted
forcefully that millets would find it tough to perform well without economic support.
Vijaya Khadir regretted the fact that even universities lacked the clout to influence the
policy makers. She said that she had more to say on this the following day.
P.V Satheesh reiterated the need for all the millet activists to speak in one voice, so that
they could prioritize their strategies. He stressed that the most pressing concern was
about safeguarding the control of local farmers over their own grain. The challenge was
how to continue protecting it while bringing on board the knowledge of the scientific
community.
Debjeet Sarangi enquired as to whether farmers could have access
“The nutritional
to the accessions in the NBPGR.
graph, productivity
V.S.Yuvaraju mentioned that “it is difficult to get subsidy to potential and agro-
grow millets. They are also extremely labour intensive.” He e c o l o g i c a l
enquired of the initiatives contemplated to motivate farmers to environment of millets
grow millets. are important to
understand, and along
Aardhendu Chhatterjee affirmed that the issue was not about
with that it is
rice/wheat versus millets. It was about blindly embracing
important to see how
technologies which meddled with ecosystems. He said that
they can be worked
nature’s resources were being plundered for seeking immediate
upon further.”
gains. And to add insult to injury, such lapses were being rewarded
- K.N. Rai
with subsidies. Warning against such practices, he reiterated that
we should return to cultivating crops the traditional, ecological
way, and restore our bio-diverse riches. “Automatically millets will be back on the farms.
There is rice cultivated in Japan too, but they don’t get varieties from China. India was a
country where rice originated. We had 30,000 varieties, but now have only 20.”
T.N. Prakash stated that he felt apprehensive expressing his views in a context marked by
strong ideological positions. He observed that “it would be wrong to look down upon rice
and wheat as villains, and proclaim millets as the most favored grains. It is therefore
important to complement millet with rice and wheat. Only then can a healthy discussion
happen.”
Responding to this, K.N. Rai pointed out that “a large number of issues have been raised in
the meeting. Since the meeting is specific to millets, it is important to stick to the discussion
on what to communicate to the government regarding the promotion of millets. This is
more important than getting into the millet versus rice debate.” He then made three
concrete suggestions; the first one being to build a network to influence the government;
second, to devise appropriate technologies native to our environment; and third, to chart
24
the nutritional values of our traditional crops, and relate their importance to the current
health needs.
Ruturaj Patnaik reported his experiences in Koraput, Orissa. He said that the tribals from
that area used to grow millets in the past. But they were stopped from doing so by the
forest department officials, who thought it would lead to deforestation. Further, most
farm scientists in the state were occupied with their work on status grains, such as rice, so
there was no encouragement for millets. He also found fault with scientists who operated
with limited variables in evaluating the productivity of a crop.
H.D. Upadhyay said that it would be better to discuss issues in terms of rainfed and
irrigated agriculture rather than taking positions on the tussle between rice and millets.
He said that millet yields in Karnataka were more than average, but more research was
needed to enhance the genetic potential of the seed to increase productivity.
P.V. Satheesh reiterated his earlier point on how “it is important that those present in the
consultation try and speak in the same voice. It is probably impossible.” But, he was happy
to find unanimity on points which mattered most about millets, such as their inclusion in
PDS and their nutritional significance. “What is being discussed in the meeting is not about
rice and wheat versus millets. What is spoken about is the government policy of promoting
rice and wheat as against millets. It is important to recover the space for millets, which is
a political question that needs to be tackled. About technology, if the control shifts from a
sensitive scientist and community to corporate hands, irrespective of increase in quantum
of yield, it would still face a problem. So, it is important to see points where one can come
together.” As convener of MINI, he stated, “it is important to have scientists on board.”
H.D Upadhyay mentioned that all the research in ICRISAT was on an international level,
and that it was for the public good. The benefit of their research, he said, was available to
all farmers. “It is in the public domain and not anyone’s property.”
P.V. Satheesh clarified that what he meant was that “it is a problem when one talks about
technology without a social context. There is a need to discuss it at a conceptual level.”
Ruturaj Patnaik stated an instance when INDAF Ragi was brought from Karnataka into
Orissa and promoted heavily by Unicef and other agencies in 1984. It was rejected by the
tribals. They were used to their indigenous variety of millets and did not enjoy the taste of
the INDAF variety.
R. Hampaiah observed “that today a Minimum Support Price (MSP) will not work, what is
required is a Minimum Guarantee Price (MGP).”
Ardhendu Chhatterjee said he was worried that “scientists are not concerned that 80% of
water of the country is being used to bring just 20% of the land under irrigated agriculture.
What will happen when another 20% is brought in? Further, the point to be looked at is
related to total farm productivity, even in the case of rice versus rice. The traditional
varieties allowed for other food to be grown with it, and as a result more food was produced.
With hybrid rice there was more grain, which got more money. The same is the issue with
millets. It is traditionally grown with oil seeds, gram etc, and therefore gives more food
than grain. With hybridization that will be lost.”
 25
Salome Yesudas brought to light the experiences of a FAO funded programme in Andhra
Pradesh, which includes 650 villages. “Farmers have been given training on several aspects
of farming, and they are able to use systems like crop water budgeting to choose what they
want to grow on their farms. As the technology is with them they are rotating irrigated and
dryland crops and are successful in doing so.”
T.N. Prakash shared his experiences of working with farmers in Karnataka. He said that
most farmer suicide cases were reported from Mandya, which is called the Punjab of
Karnataka. A majority of farmers who committed suicide were the ones who owned
borewells, and were irrigating the lands. This, he said, opened his eyes to the complex
dynamics of Indian agriculture. And the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced
that there was a lot of virtue in hanging on to our age-old seeds, such as millets, which
needed to be celebrated with a “common voice and a common song”.
K.S. Varaprasad mentioned that “the mindset of researchers is definitely a problem. There
needs to be a balance and not a complete shift to GM related research. The good thing is
that the genome of millets has not been meddled with. He referred to the fact that “the
consultation has lots of breeders and scientists, and it is an opportunity to introspect and
move ahead.” He also mentioned about the social relevance of gene banks and how they
could be linked to farmers.” PDS and price support are the most important issues that can
be taken forward together because there is no controversy over them. Further, whether
one likes it or not there are legislations like the Biological Diversity Act, Patents Act,
Geographical Indications Act, and Plant Variety Protection and Farmer’s Rights Act. All
these provide some kind of exclusivity, which if we don’t take, someone else will.”

Foxtail millets
 Network Meeting

Maximizing MINI: Anetwork meeting & Agenda Setting

Facilitation: P.V. Satheesh, Convenor, MINI

T
his session included presentations from various participants on their work with millets,
while eliciting their opinion on what they would expect from a network like MINI.
The session was also devoted to discussing the critical strategies for safeguarding
millets. P.V. Satheesh explained the purpose of the session and opened it up for presentations.

Madhu, YAKSHI, Andhra Pradesh

“Yakshi has been working with adivasi people in Andhra Pradesh where the main issue has
been the struggle for control over land and natural resources, as well as forests. Various
government programmes like Joint Forest Management (JFM), IFAD sponsored schemes etc
have changed the diverse subsistence-economy of these areas into a commercial one.”
Madhu emphasized that “it is important to view land as an
“The millet agenda ecosystem. Control over land is not enough unless it is linked
needs to include the
with faming, forest produce or knowledge. It is a game plan of
issue of land and
the government to bring land in tribal areas under plantations to
threats on community
grow commercial crops such as timber, biofuels, tea/coffee etc.”
control over it.”
- Madhu “MINI can encourage more and more farmers to get land under
millet cultivation. But at the same time it needs to remember
that adivasis are often not treated as farmers and even the farmer’s movements have
ignored their concerns.” He mentioned that there were other political issues such as mining
and dams, which needed a closer look.
He said that although it was important to include the scientific community, there were
misgivings as to what would happen if Monsanto or Syngenta were invited for discussions!
He referred to one of the presentations of the morning session where it was mentioned that
crops were being certified and handed over to companies like ITC.” Further, there is a need
to build a market chain, not at the international level but within India itself. He concluded
by saying that he would like to be involved with MINI if political issues were to be debated.
 27

Abdul Karim, RDT (Rural Development Trust), Andhra Pradesh
Abdul Karim deplored the disappearance of millets in the
Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh. He said that it was all
because of farmers flocking to grow groundnuts which promised
them high yields in the beginning. One million hectares of land
is under groundnut cultivation in this scanty rainfall zone. He
asserted that it was important to bring the farmers back to
millet cultivation, and that RDT was working in that direction.

Sanyasi Rao, ANTHRA, Andhra Pradesh

Sanyasi Rao said that Anthra has the experience of working for
15 years on agro-biodiversity and livestock diversity issues. The group strongly believes
that livestock cannot be isolated from cropping patterns. He detailed the initiatives of
Anthra on building perspectives with farmers; seeking DDS’s help to procure millets for
them; and working on diversifying crops and food security and lifestyles.

Anuja Krishna, ECONET, Maharashtra

Anuja Krishna highlighted the concerns of Maharashtra. She mentioned that in the North
Western Ghats, even today millets are cultivated through a shifting cultivation system
specifically in the tribal areas of the Western Ghats. This
scene, however, has come under a cloud because there is a
new debate as to whether the cultivators will be granted
rights to own and till the lands under the Scheduled Tribes
and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights)
Act, 2006.
She pointed out that in dryland areas millet cultivation is
high. There are three or four current threats which will divert
this land for other use which includes the construction of
small dams, wind energy farms by groups like Suzlon,
agrofuels and corporate farming. At the same time there
are several neo-farmers (new first generation farms) where
there is potential to encourage millets. This refers to the
communities who receive agricultural plots as part of livelihood rehabilitation, but who for
want of minimal knowledge-base on agriculture often end up selling their land to big
farmers who then grow cash crops. This is also one of the reasons that more and more
millet fields are diverted to cash crops. In coastal Maharashtra, the issue of water shortage
makes the need for millet cultivation very relevant.
Processes like gene banks, documentation through People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs)
are big grey areas. All are directed towards collecting information without any clarity on
the question of transparency. Reintroduction of millet in the coastal agricultural area should
be done by targeting it as a soil conservation measure which is one of the big issues there.
28

Amulya Baul, AGRAGAMEE, Orissa
Amulya Baul spoke about some of the issues of southern Orissa where the villagers say that
land is the biggest concern. Communities, earlier, were practicing shifting cultivation to
grow millets, which they are unable to do now. The introduction of HYVs in the area has led
to the disappearance of millets. He stressed the need to develop a system of documenting
traditional resource use.

Debjeet Sarangi, LIVING FARMS, (Regional

Resource Centre of DRCSC), Orissa
Debjeet Sarangi explained that the landless and the marginal
farmers of the drylands in Orissa are the ones who continue to
grow millets. He also pointed out that there are two Primitive
Tribal Groups (PTGs) his organization works with: the Bondo
and Dongaria Kondhs who are not traditional rice eaters.
However, from the day PDS was introduced to their areas with
rice, the communities have grown more and more dependant
on this grain, waiting for trucks to arrive with their rations.
Ironically, they have been robbed of their traditional food in
the name of the Right to Food Campaign. In the plain areas,
cotton and agrofuels are being promoted at an accelerated
pace. In the current financial year it is proposed to bring 60,000
hectares under cotton and 20,000 hectares under agrofuels in
Orissa. Programmes like NREGA are being used to push this.
As a network it would be important for MINI to advocate for
millets not just as a crop but also as a culture. It is also critical
to put food first at the household level and then move on to
local markets and from there go further afield.

Prashanth Narayanan, DULAL, Orissa

Prashanth Narayanan spoke about the work of this group in
Mayurbhanj, Orissa. Further, he said that the debate was not
about millets per se, but about the whole philosophy of
biodiverse farming. He finally pointed to the need for sharing
of knowledge.

Jayachandran, OFAI, (Organic Farming

Association of India Network), Tamil Nadu
Jayachandran mentioned that his area registers 1800 mm of
rainfall and that farming is mostly rainfed. In terms of millets,
only finger millet is grown in the region. He then translated a
Tamil proverb from his area which says that the one who
transplanted finger millet in the field can easily come to the
 29
puja (prayer) room without any worries. He also said that he
has declared his village a bio-village.

Arifullah, VGKK, (Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana

Kendra) Karnataka
Arifullah highlighted the work of VGKK with the Soliga tribal
community and also the fact that finger millet is a major crop
of the Soligas. He shared through pictures several initiatives
including that of value additions to crops like Amaranthus,
which are now being sold by the community.

Can Farmers Access ICRISAT and NBPGR germplasm?

One question that was brought up a few times at the sessions was, whether it
was possible to have access to the germplasm deposited with any of the designated
places such as ICRISAT, NBPGR or the genebanks elsewhere! The scientists from
some of these institutions present at the meeting mentioned that if a specific
accession is sought for, it should not be a problem. However, if there is a
requirement for say 600 accessions of finger millet then it is not known what the
response would be. Also if it is required by an NGO, then they would need to
approach NBPGR which has already repatriated it from ICRISAT, and it is a property
of India. It was confirmed that whosoever wants this at the national level, would
have no problem seeking it through a letter.
What also came to light was that there is something called ‘passport data’ that
is maintained at ICRISAT through which the origins of a species can be traced.
So, if there is a specific variety from a region which has been lost (as was a
query of Wani Hurda, unique sweet variety from Wani village, Maharashtra),
then it can be traced. Further, in response to a query it was confirmed that the
passport data can be accessed through a website.

Open House Discussion

One of the participants raised a query as to whether it is possible to replace rice and wheat
with millets in the PDS immediately and whether it is possible to change food habits.
Another participant responded to this and said that the issue is not about excluding rice,
but including millets. P.V. Satheesh urged the participants to seek answers to these questions
at the local, village level and not at the country level, which gets very overwhelming. The
planners of the country also make the same mistake.
Aardhendu Chhaterjee observed that “it is important to bring back food sovereignty and
do a food first audit of every state. This way one can ascertain whether there is a need for
a national PDS. It is also important to focus on biodiverse agriculture and integrated farming
systems which also must include trees and animals. The total yield of farms should be
 30
assessed rather than that of crops. Further, it is important to give recognition to millet
farmers and groups who are doing good work, and not wait for governments to do it. These
case studies should be documented and taken forward.” He further said that “there should
be a campaign against the use of ground water for cropping. Also, a lot of patenting is
taking place casually and the State Biodiversity Boards etc are involved in facilitating it. If
all the Acts are enforced then the seed banks will become illegal. In institutions like CGIAR
there is a seed monopoly and later a claim of creating a seed. Indian law did not allow this
earlier, now laws have also been borrowed. It is not a question about who should patent,
but whether someone should be allowed to do so or not.”
K.N. Rai responded to Ardhendu Chhatterjee by saying that “CGIAR
institutions are all in tropical countries and no corporate control
“Millet is a concept, of seeds is taking place.” He asserted that there was no way ICRISAT
not a crop. We don’t would go into the hands of Multi National Corporations. He remarked
want to promote that since it was a consultation on millets, he had thought that the
monocultures of discussion would be about technology and how different people
millets. It is biodiverse could come together to contribute to it.
farming. There is no
problem with rice, but Responding to this perception, P.V. Satheesh said that “NGOs
it should not become an have wider perspectives, which would feature not only the technical
imperial crop.” aspects of the food problem, but would encompass social concerns
- P. V. Satheesh as well.” He further said that the issue was not about ICRISAT per
se, but, the larger politics of corporate control over research.
Ruturaj Patnaik emphasized that there was a need for extending
credit to millet farmers, and that banks should come forward to formulate this policy.
Vijay Jawandhia added that “the presentation from Orissa and Marathwada have made the
point very clear that cotton is replacing millets. It is important to link the entire process of
sowing to harvesting of millets to schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(NREGA). This way we will not be depending on petroleum products.”
K.N. Rai questioned as to what kind of farmers were being discussed in the consultation:
“those who have a commercial outlook or those who don’t.” He said that there was a time
“when a farmer deemed it an insult to be having to buy grain.”
P.V. Satheesh responded to K.N. Rai and said that “It is not a subsistence economy but a subsistence
vision that is being spoken about. Once we go out of it, the millet based system is finished.”
He concluded the session by requesting the participants to think over the declaration scheduled
for discussion the following day, and also to come up with their take on the subject. He
insisted that if civil societies were to stay with their responsibilities, it was important for
them to embrace some amount of sociology and politics while discussing complex issues.
They couldn’t be expected to shy away from it.
Day Two: June 6, 2008
SESSION III

Millets and Health/Nutritional Security

Facilitation by B. Sesi Keran, Director, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad

B. Sesi Keran initiated the session by highlighting the fact that “we are in an era of
rediscovering our past glory. People are realizing that what has been ignored all this while
is what is going to come to our rescue. Research has indicated that there is an increasing
rethinking on millets.” He hoped that the experts taking part in the session would throw
light on the nutritional and medicinal aspects of millets.

Creating demand for millet foods

Vijaya Khadir, Formerly DEAN, Home Science, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural
University, Andhra Pradesh
Vijaya Khadir began her presentation by saying that she was happy to share the views and
the experimental results of her work. For the last 12 years she had been trying to bring up
the agenda of millets at the policy level and also had tried
to push it in the PDS system. She also spoke about her efforts
towards promoting the importance of millets in human
health. She said that she had undertaken two projects, the
first being funded by the Indian Council for Agriculture
(ICAR), and the second by the Department of Biotechnology.
Both the projects were aimed at making use of the traditional
base of our diet to prepare healthy and nutritional products
for the vulnerable groups of our population. Her experience
in this field has strengthened her faith that “there is a need
to create a demand for millet foods from production to
consumption.”
32
Millets and Health/Nutritional Security
P. Rajyalakshmi, DEAN, Home Science, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University,
Andhra Pradesh
P. Rajyalakshmi said, “Millet is one of the oldest foods known
to humans. It was grown as early as 2700 BC in China and
was the favoured grain before rice usurped its place. They
are short-season hardy crops capable of growing on a wide
range of infertile soils under extremely harsh climatic
conditions in temperate, arid and semi-arid crop regions of
the world. Millet is highly nutritious, healthy and versatile.
However, Minor Millets account for less than one percent of
food grains produced in the world today. According to the
Food and Agriculture Organisation (2001), the world
production of millets is 26.35 MT (1999) and in India the
production is 8.10 MT.”
She advocated giving subsidies to farmers growing millets, and argued for guaranteeing
them support prices. Nutrition security implies food grain security and availability of diverse
foods to ensure macro and micro nutrient requirements.
She said “people are slowly waking up to the virtues of millets, but there is much that
needs to be done to popularize the use of millets. This could be done through education,
especially in schools and ashrams.”

Nutritious Sorghum - Health Food

V. Vimala, Formerly Associate DEAN, Home Science, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural
University, Andhra Pradesh
V. Vimala explained that her presentation would deal essentially with sorghum, which was
her main field of research. She said that “sorghum has unique nutritional and functional
properties which allows for development of healthy
nutritious foods as it is gluten free; it has unique phenolic
compounds which have medicinal properties and also
complements well with lysine rich vegetable and animal
proteins to form nutritionally balanced foods.”
“Sorghum also can be considered as a functional food since
it is hypocholesterolemic and hypoglycemic in nature. A study
on sorghum amongst other things concludes that sorghum
biscuits are effective in reducing serum lipid levels in
hypercholesterolemic subjects. But long term
supplementation studies are required to support this.
Further, there has been a strong clinical impression that
diabetic patients tolerate Ragi better than rice. Hence it is
very essential to study the effectiveness of sorghum recipes on the blood sugar level of
diabetic patients.
 33
The presentation concluded with three points:
“A study also indicates

It is possible to develop many products using coarse whole sorghum recipes
grain like sorghum using varied processing technologies. are better than

Among all the processing technologies, fermentation dehulled sorghum
seems to be the better option for deriving maximum recipes for diabetic
nutritional benefits. patients.”
- V. Vimala

With increase in nutritional awareness among people,
it is always advisable to promote sorghum as a health food / functional food since it
possesses hypocholesterolemic effects and hypoglycemic effects.

Millets, Orissa and Nutritional Security

Pushpashree Nayak, MASS, Orissa
Pushpashree Nayak asked the participants if they had come
across an instance where they had seen a child drink
traditionally made wine before he/she went to school? She
put this question to explain how each culture evolves its own
patterns of food habits, depending on place, time and its
collective wisdom. Following this logic, the farmers of Orissa
arranged different types of food hierarchically. They
categorized food as “Charbya, Choshya and Lehya,” as markers
for the kind of nutrients each of them provided to the body.
The underlying rationale for this division was their recognition
of Nature’s biodiversity. With the introduction of corporate
technology, the situation changed drastically, upsetting the
traditional, healthy, and nutritive food habits.
Millet, the miracle grain can be grown under harsh conditions, and the poor and marginalized
people who live upland, and have no irrigation facility could grow the grain easily without any
external input. That is how poor farmers from Dalit and Adivasi communities in Orissa were
able to get food from millet crops for eight months and depend on forest produce for the
remaining four months. Today, a consciousness of prestige has entered the minds of people,
and it has been impacting millet cultivation and consumption. In Western Orissa, more than
40% of women are malnourished. Most people are not consuming millet gruels but cold drinks.
Biscuits, mixture, vada and singda (samosa) have taken over all snacks. The nutritional charts
in schools do not have millets but only fruits and vegetables that need to be bought from the
market.
Despite its advantages, Nayak questioned as to why it is that millets are ranked below
other grains. This is because it is considered to be ‘poor man’s grain’ and also because the
current, changed food habits don’t support it. The government and other agencies neglect
it, so there is no market for it.
However, it is important to push for millets by its inclusion in different programmes and
policies of the government, including PDS and Mid-Day Meals. Inclusion of its nutritional,
medicinal and other values in course curriculum is also required from the primary level.
34
Active research is needed on its production, value addition and marketing. Value addition to
millet is required through technological intervention by taking care of its nutritional values.

Potential of Pearl Millet for Alternative Food Uses and Nutritional Security
K.N. Rai, Principal Scientist, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
K.N. Rai initiated his presentation by announcing that he had been involved in millet research,
specifically Pearl Millet, for the last 31 years. He is a not a nutritionist or a food scientist,
but a hard core plant breeder. However, he has been reviewing the nutritional aspects of
pearl millet for the past 3-4 years. His interest in the
nutritional value of pearl millet was more influenced after his
participation in a symposium organized last year in Delhi by
the Nutritional Foundation of India. He then shared with the
participants a slide which looked at the nutritional values of
millets versus that of wheat and maize. As per the literature,
the protein content of pearl millet and wheat was almost the
same. But he observed that it would be wrong to jump to
such conclusions that wheat has as high protein as pearl millet
because the grain samples of wheat must have come from
fields managed at much higher applied nitrogen fertilizer
levels than pearl millet, and nitrogen application increases
protein content in pearl millet as in other cereals.
He declared that “one would not be surprised to find that more than 50% of those in
attendance in the meeting might be deficient in Iron, but don’t realize it till there are
clinical symptoms of the same.” He then shared a slide which clearly showed that that the
iron content of pearl millet and sorghum was much higher than that of wheat.
There are various processing technologies for millets including Milling, Decortication, Malting,
Blanching, Heat treatment, Acid treatment, Fermentation and popping. This is to improve
the nutritional quality of pearl millet/sorghum as well as the consumer acceptability.
The presentation then spoke about the effect of storage time on free fat acidity of processed
and unprocessed pearl millet flour. A graph indicated that the fat acidity of the flour of the
unprocessed grains shoots up within seven days. But there are solutions with treatment to
control this. Figures were also shared regarding the effect of malting and blanching on
polyphenols and phytic acid content of pearl millet (mg/100 g grain).
K.N. Rai showed pictures of how various products could be made out of pearl millet, and
said that Haryana Agricultural Univesity, among others was doing that work. He said that
India had the dubious distinction of being called the diabetic capital of the world, and
highlighted the role that pearl millet could play in handling the problem. He showed figures
related to Glycaemic Index of pearl millets, to bring out their health value.
He concluded his presentation by highlighting the various constraints and opportunities for
commercialization of sorghum and pearl millet food products. The constraints include
misplaced social stigma, subsidized rice and wheat, inconsistent grain supplies, mixed grain
marketing, short shelf life of flour, lack of procurement and food technology at the laboratory
scale and declining cultivation. “However there are opportunities which emphasize the fact
 35
that millets are highly nutritious and have a health value.
“Since the next war is
Therefore there is a need for a PDS policy for sorghum and
going to be of water,
pearl millet along with stable, economical commercial millets are going to be
production. The production of specialty grains is possible and of great relevance. Also
also the shelf life can be enhanced with the application of considering their
available technologies. Both the procurement and food health values Millets
technologies can make millets commercially feasible. It has should quite rightly be
been reported that pearl millet foods and drinks have both called NUTRICEREALS.”
warming and cooling effects, depending on the type of - K.N. Rai
preparation. It is common knowledge that people in north
India consume pearl millet chapati believing that it keeps them warm. But in parts of Tamil
Nadu, people use pearl millet to prepare a drink which they have in summer for breakfast
believing that it keeps them cool!”

Experiences from Tamil Nadu

C. Uma Maheshwar Reddy, NRM Program, Centre for World Solidarity (CWS), Andhra
Pradesh
C Uma Maheshwar Reddy began his presentation by outlining the goals and objectives of
CWS which “include ensuring farmers’ self reliance; household food security through
encouraging food crop cultivation; ecological farming like NPM-IPM and encouraging crop
bio-diversity. It also believes in non-GM (Genetically Modified) agriculture with self reliance
of the farmer in the whole agricultural cycle with an organic approach. Such farming also
believes in water conservation and water productivity.”
He further presented the profile of the Tamil Nadu millet network and said that there were
several groups which were working actively to popularize millet consumption. Farmers
were getting loans to buy mobile carts for selling millet porridge: “TRD affiliated farmers
got a loan for selling red gram in packets, and Velicham farmers for making “Ragi murukku”;
and PPMS is selling energy food made up of all millets and pulses. A recipe booklet of
millets and pulses has been published in Tamil.”
He further said that more campaigning was needed to popularize millets.

Uncultivated Foods - Experiences from Medak

District
Salome Yesudas, formerly with DDS
Salome Yesudas, who was formerly with the DDS and worked
closely with the women farmers began her presentation by
saying that “the discussions till now in the workshop have
dealt essentially with issues of availability, accessibility, and
absorption. However, this has been part of DDS’s vision for
the last twenty years. DDS has done a lot of work towards
this by shifting to organic farming, and working with women’s
sanghams, which has spread in different parts of the country
through networks. Starting out with only 20 varieties, the
36
women farmers have been able to increase the number of varieties saved to 82. Millets have
answers to all the food related security issues prevailing today.”
The presentation brought forth the point that “millets are cultivated with oil seeds, grams
and also green leafy vegetables. There are several uncultivated foods that farmers get
through millet cultivation which includes green leafy vegetables, up to 120 in number.
These serve the food, fodder and also the medicinal requirements of the community. They
can also be incorporated in the soil as green manure. All these aspects have been analyzed
with the help of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad. The analysis has also
been carried out on the nutritional content of red and black soils. The results have revealed
that red soils on which millets are essentially cultivated are more nutritious. Red soils also
have vitamins and ß-carotene. Most of the red soil samples have high values in Vitamin C
and ß-carotene .These studies are all available on the website of DDS.
It was further added that iron-rich food like millets need to be supplemented by Vitamin C
which is contained in the green leafy vegetables that the farmers consume. The women
sanghams present the same scientific model. However, this was required to be proved.
Therefore, in 2003 a scientific study was undertaken with children and pregnant women
and lactating mothers along with NIN and McGill University. This study is available on the
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and DDS websites. In the experimental
villages where the Alternate PDS model is operational, people are healthy and have a
better standard of living. There are also 8-10 varieties of pulses that are available.
She added that there is a need to appreciate the keeping quality of unprocessed millet and
work towards processing technologies which will increase consumption.

Workshop in progress
 37
The presentation concluded by saying that “there is a need for standardizing and fine-
tuning these processes”

Open House Discussion

P.V. Satheesh responded to K.N. Rai’s presentation wherein comments had been made
on the keeping quality of millets. He said that people had shown several ways through
which millets could be stored. “It is important to think of storage through a decentralized
manner, through a village or community level. It is important not to get stuck with the
Food Corporation of India (FCI) model. This is one issue that the policy makers use to
counter the millet agenda, and it is important to give a counter to that.”
T.N. Prakash replied that the point that was made was not about the keeping quality of
millet but that of the flour.
P.V. Satheesh responded by saying that “it is important to understand as to which
population is using pre-ground grain and what percentage takes it to a flour mill. The
major consumers of millets are rural.”
K.N. Rai said that he would like to re-iterate T.N.Prakash’s point. “There is a need to
find out which households consume grain (in tribal areas) and which procure flour. A
large population requires flour. In urban areas there are practical difficulties in getting
to a flour mill and getting the required amount. Sometimes a required amount of an
urban household is much less than what a flour mill is willing to grind. To make the
government listen, it is important to ensure that millets are the food of the elite.”
T.N. Prakash questioned if “there is a study to compare the keeping quality of indigenous
millet with the HYVs. It is quite likely that the indigeneous varieties may fare better!”
Another participant responded to this by saying that “we cannot go and grow varieties
which have better keeping quality but fewer yields. The reality is that there is less
land and more people.”
Vijay Jawandhia stated that “it is important to look at land, water, and energy together
in agriculture.”
P.V. Satheesh asserted that “if India needs to be a leader then it needs to lead and not
follow another country’s vision.”
Vijay Jawandhia added to Satheesh’s point and stated that “today India is borrowing
technology from developed countries. The land holdings in the country are very small
and it is a luxury to keep land fallow.”
Salome Yesudas pointed out that “today people are getting rice and wheat through
PDS and are taking it to flour mills; the same can be done for millets. The keeping
quality will only be a plus point for millets.”
B.Sesi Keran pointed out that “if millets are promoted only in the rural areas they will
38
never get over the social stigma. It is important to make it a food of the middle class
and the elite; otherwise the same mistakes will be repeated.”
P.V. Satheesh clarified that “if millets need to be commercialized using technology, then
it needs to be done for urban areas. For many people working in rural areas, the keeping
quality of millets is not a problem. The travesty today is
that people in urban areas are eating more millets than in
rural areas. It is the PDS that is the problem.”

Remarks from the Chair

B. Sesi Keran, Director, National Institute of Nutrition,
Hyderabad
The chairperson concluded the session by stating that “nature
is giving everyone another chance to save ourselves from
disaster. It is important to take it by promoting millets, as
we might not get another chance again.”

Millet - Kodisama
 SESSION IV

Millets and Development Agenda

Facilitation by Hanumanta Rao Prof. & Head, CWE & PA, National Institute of
Rural Development

K. Hanumanta Rao initiated the session by saying that while everybody agreed on the
importance of millets in the present food situation, there were divergent views on the
ways millets could be helped to regain their prominence. He said that the policy makers
are yet to recognize the merits of millets.
“The fact today is that the net sown area for agriculture is declining and millets are the
losers. Schemes like NREGA need to be used to encourage millets. The role of technology
is not just about enhancing yields but also about farmers having control over its use. There
is perhaps also a need for more studies by ICAR and others. The issue of Minimum Guarantee
Price also needs to be looked at. The larger question is also that even if there is a support
price there is no institutional mechanism to procure the grains. This is happening even
with rice. It is important to see this in the context of the millets and whether the
procurement should be promoted through community based SHGs or through the
government.”
“There is also a need to conduct studies on the impact of state policies on millets. The role
of ITC and other private sector companies is important to be able to take advantage of the
millet cultivation. Of course this needs to be done without impacting the food sovereignty
of the farmer and only to be taken on if the impact is not negative. Also there is a need for
more poverty mapping studies and the cultivation of millets in those areas, public awareness,
and for creating more advocacy instruments. Finally millets should not be promoted as
monocrops.”

Ecoregion Specific Pearl Millet Cultivars for Increased and Stable Production
I.S.Khairwal, project coordinator, All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Agroforestry(
AICRP), Rajasthan
I.S. Khairwal reported that “the cultivated area for pearl millet globally is 26 million hectares
(ha) and in India it is 9.8 million hectares, out of which the state of Rajasthan alone claims
40
4-5 million hectares It is considered to be bread and butter here. It is both a way of life and
also a lifeline for the state. Pearl millet is a very important crop, largely grown by marginal
farmers on marginal soils where there is very low rainfall.”
He pointed out that “the open pollinated varieties are the
local varieties. The hybrid varieties of pearl millets have an
advantage over the local varieties and there is data to show
this.” This data was shared during the meeting. It was also
highlighted that the grain yield under subsistence agriculture
was 600-800 kg/ha, while under Improved management it
was 4-5 tonnes/ha. The presentation also shared the adaptive
features of sorghum and pearl millet on parameters like drought
tolerance, water efficiency, heat tolerance and so on.
“When we talk about food security, we need to grow more
food. Hybrids have the characteristics of the parent plants
and therefore are not deficient in nutrition. Further, it is important to note that pearl millet
will always be under cultivation, as the land area where it is grown is much more than that of
sorghum. With the help of biotechnology, an improved variety of HHB 67 pearl millet has
been developed. This is very popular in Haryana and Rajasthan and can do well in both saline
and alkaline soils.”
Farmers grow pearl millet parallel to wheat with the help of irrigation in the summer season.
The investment is recovered through fodder and the rest is a profit for the farmer. This is
happening in parts of Gujarat also.

Micro Level Experiments in Food Security

A.C. Jena, Formerly Professor, Centre for Agrarian Studies and Disaster Mitigation, NIRD,
Hyderabad
A.C. Jena shared the findings of a study on successful micro level experiments in food
security that he had carried out over four states with four NGOs. These groups were the
Academy of Development Sciences (ADS) in Maharashtra, Rupantar in Chhatisgarh, Deccan
Development Society (DDS) in Andhra Pradesh and Prepare in Orissa. Each of these groups
had used a different model for achieving food security in
their work with farmers using indigenous seeds. The details
of these were shared in the presentation.
He then highlighted the various factors responsible for the
success of these initiatives which include:

understanding and analyzing the food insecurity situation
of the marginal groups in the specific context.

examining their vulnerability factors.

organizing, mobilizing people and involving communities
in the process of decision making.

utilizing the local resources, unifying their collective
 41
strength and contribution.

enhancing their collective bargaining power, and finally.

building a community based institution i.e. grain bank to meet the lean-season scarcity
situation.
These experiments have had an impact on various aspects including the economic, social and
political ones. The details of each of these aspects were presented.
Following this, the presentation highlighted the following points in conclusion:

The intervention of micro level food security efforts along with grain banks alleviates
lean season scarcity of food grain by eliminating the role of moneylenders.

Once the exploitation of local moneylender/middle men has been dealt with, the
vicious circle of poverty breaks.

The intervention of grain banks protects their purchasing power to repay their loans
and proves effective in countering the uncertain food prices in the market.

The pull away from the moneylenders and the push to repay the grain loan motivates
them to invest labour in their own fields. This shift from role of labourer to cultivator
is significant.

Having overcome their preoccupation with survival needs, they look towards meeting
larger goals of development in their village, block and district.

Therefore, this kind of intervention is necessary.

Presentation
T N Prakash, Professor, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore
T.N. Prakash began his presentation by reiterating that it is important to think of a single
and common language. It is also critical to envisage a segregation of policy initiatives
based on millet based cropping systems, which is a different
paradigm of development. The scientists from ICRISAT have
given a counter paradigm in their presentations.
“Several issues have been raised in the meeting and in that
light a question needs to be posed to MINI and its partners.”
He asked the MINI partners as to “what was their reaction
to the market which is a prominent player in the current
system.” He added that another important component of
securities (other than the six highlighted earlier by
P.V.Satheesh) is income security. “Do the millet farmers not
expect money in return of their produce?”
He then quoted an example from Karnataka where, in the
previous year the groundnut crop gave 20% more yield. “In simple economics when there is
more supply the prices should go down. But that did not happen; instead the prices went up
by 30%. This goes completely against the demand-supply logic.” He further added that today
India is a one trillion dollar economy. “The incomes in the IT sector are soaring. Anything can
42
be sold today. The millet crop is an important thing that can go along with the growth of the
economy. Today the market cannot be undermined. It is important to get into the market
system. What is wrong with millets being available only in supermarkets or five star hotels?
At the same time the community initiatives are also very important.”
“The vision of scientists might be different from that of the NGOs, but it is possible to be more
sensitive to cultural values. At the same time, the scale of intervention is also very important. An
NGO can think at a community level, but a scientist has to think at the state or national level.
In this light, what should be done first is to set up a National Mission for Millets, run not by
bureaucrats but by grassroots organizations. Second, while nutrition and health are
important, it is also important to deal with the issue of both farmer suicides and the
naxalism problem, both of which are linked with the agrarian crisis.”

Presentation
Sanjay K. Rai, FIAN, Delhi
Sanjay K. Rai observed, “In today’s scenario, 46% children are malnourished. The maternal
and infant mortality rates are very high in India, according to UNICEF figures. Even though
there is a Nutrition Mission, constituted and headed by the
Prime Minister, the problem continues to haunt the population.
Finally, the role of corporations is increasingly influencing the
development agenda. The procurement for PDS/Mid Day Meal
/ICDS is a centralized system, and is influenced by the middle
class, rich farmers and corporate houses.”
He further said, “While the need for millets has been discussed
extensively in the consultation it is important to think of how
this can be done. There is a need to lobby with Members of
Parliament, and the relevant ministries including Food and
Civil Supplies, Human Resource Development and Tribal Affairs.
There is also a need for an alliance of peasants, environmental
groups (in the context of climate change) and state
governments.”
He ended his presentation by highlighting the discussion with one of the Food Commissioners
appointed by the Supreme Court under the petition related to the Right to Food Programme.
The commissioner had mentioned that the government system was very strong, and that
pressure from the ground was required to push millets in the Right to Food Programme.

Observations
P. V. Satheesh, National Convenor, MINI, Millet Network of India
P.V. Satheesh reported that many of his friends from Orissa had complained that the Right to
Food Programme had negatively impacted the millets, so the problem needed to be looked
into. He said that artificial divisions had been created between cash and food crops, while
what was important to talk about was “the whole farm yield and how much nutrition is
generated per farm land.” He said that the media had created a corporate-based demand
 43
for food. “Millets are not alternative but original foods. It is time to go back to the basics.”
He further clarified that whatever he was saying came not from his own thinking, but from
what he had learnt from the women farmers of DDS, who “have a sustainable vision and
not a subsistence one. These terms need to be redefined.”
Putting forth his views on the Public Distribution System, he said, “PDS has to be at the level
of community procurement. The idea is not about community
versus nation, as a nation is a cumulative of communities. But,
there is a need to change the paradigm of thinking with regards “While talking about
to storage of grains. Also there is a need for crop insurance for multiple levels of sov-
millets. The current vicious financial systems deprive people of ereignty, it is important
their dignity to produce what they want to. Millet farmers should to talk of that in re-
be given an ecological bonus for their ecological services. Today search, too. Research
should be led by farm-
millets do not occupy the highest priority, as they should. There is
ers. With due respect
no problem with the concept of markets. But it is important to
to my scientist friends,
remember that it is a spiral and should start from the centre
I must say that it is
which is the household. Next comes the community, then the local
important for research
markets and only after that will come the national and international to be liberated from
ones. It should not be at the cost of people’s food sovereignty. the confines of institu-
Farmers should also have the right to dictate their own markets tional occupation.”
and not depend on one with current speculations.” - P.V. Satheesh
Speaking about poverty, P.V.Satheesh said, “It is important to
map both poverty and well- being in rural areas. If one is ‘poor’
it does not mean one is living an unhealthy life. NREGA is an “Whether one calls it
invisible destruction which is slowly destroying the farming an economic support or
economy. There won’t be any willingness to till the land when a subsidy or bonus, this
higher wages are being offered to carry on other tasks. NREGA is what millet farmers
should support ploughing, weeding, harvesting and other farm need. Market is not
related tasks as employment activities.” that important.”
- Vijay Jawandhia
Open House and Development of Hyderabad Declaration
Vijay Jawandhia asserted that being a farmer himself, he could say with some authority that
market forces by themselves would not solve the farmers’ problems. He said, “70% of the
people still don’t have the purchasing power.”

The session ended with the participants proposing the following points for
inclusion in the declaration:
• Millets be seen as rooted in food culture and community autonomy.
• Millets be looked at as ‘a concept and not just a crop’.
• Comprehensive valuation of millets be done vis-à-vis food security and other ecosystem
services.
• Myths surrounding millets be dispelled.
• Like rice and wheat, millets to be included in the PDS system.
44
• Private, public and community participation be sought to promote millets.
• Millets be sold below the price of rice,i.e., at less than Rs2/- a kilogram.
• Strategies be worked out to promote minor millet cultivation in cotton areas.
• People impacted by the commercial takeover of millets be co-opted for advice.
• Database be created of seed banks in the country.
• Activities like sowing be included in NREGA schemes.
• Millet processing technology be fine-tuned and standardized.
• More studies be done to tap into indigenous knowledge and culture.
• Myths surrounding millets be dispelled.
• Higher and middle income groups be accessed for millet promotion.
• Millet crops be advertised as “nutri-cereals”.
• Interstate cooperation be sought to promote millet cultivation.
• Subsidies and awards be offered to millet growers.
• “Social Forestry” and plantations be prevented from usurping millet lands.
• More millet ‘melas’ be organized.
• Mono-cropping of millets be resisted to enable mixed cropping.
• National Food Security Mission and National Biodiversity Authority be persuaded to be
fair to millets.
• Fallacies of “Green Revolution” be exposed.
• Millets as part of integrated farming system be encouraged in all dryland farming
systems and tribal areas.
• Resource material be developed for new organisations initiating work on Millets as a
concept.
• Farmer Exchanges be organised.
The Hyderabad declaration was read out and changes incorporated after detailed discussions.
There were some points like “farmer-led” research versus “farmer-participatory” research
which were discussed in detail, and it was decided that a suitable terminology would be
used in the revised declaration to incorporate the differences of opinion.
 Concluding Session

Presentation of Hyderabad Declaration on Millets

Facilitation by P.V. Satheesh, Convenor, MINI

P.V. Satheesh welcomed the Chief Guest, D.Srinivasulu, Agriculture Commissioner of

Andhra Pradesh, and the other guests at the concluding session. He said that D.
Srinivasulu was an old supporter of DDS, who had helped the dalit women farmers of
DDS procure land during the days when he was working as the Joint Collector. And that
was the time when the DDS had just begun its work. Recalling those days, P.V.Satheesh
invited the Agriculture Commissioner to return to Zaheerabad to see the transformation
over the years.
Explaining the purpose of the meeting, he said that it had been called to involve civil
society representatives, nutritionists, scientists and activists in popularizing the message
of millets. He said, “we do not see millet as a crop but as a concept, which needs to be
at the centre of discussion.” One of the goals in that direction was to carry the network,
MINI forward. He further said that the participants had put together a declaration
incorporating the concerns voiced during the sessions. He read out the declaration,
while making it clear that it was just a framework, and that its final version would soon
be available to them.

Millets the Miracle Grains

Screening of a film by Community Media Trust
The above film which was screened on the first day was shown again for the benefit of the
special invitees of the final session.
Presentation
B.K. Thapliyal, Prof and Head, Centre for Agrarian Studies and Disaster Management,
NIRD, Hyderabad.
B.K.Thapliyal regretted that over the years food had been ascribed qualities based on
the status of the people consuming it. It was unfortunate, he said, that junk food had
pushed traditional food off the table!
46
Food and water would be the major concerns in future, he
said. The FAO has warned that the food prices would go up
further in view of the misguided global policies and the rise
in population. Prize agricultural land was being taken over
for industrial purposes, thus compounding the situation
further. He emphasized the need for streamlining the public
distribution system, and said that millets had a big role to
play in the future, because the irrigated lands had been
stretched to their limit, and the country would be depending
more and more on the rain-fed lands for food. Millets, which
knew how to adapt to harsh conditions would be able to fill
the food basket. It would supply both food and fodder, so
“Further there is no there was an urgent need to change the mindset of our
need for genetic modi- agricultural policy makers. He was glad that organisations
fication in millets as like DDS had been campaigning for food sovereignty through
they are naturally nu- the restoration of indigenous seeds. He expressed his support
tritious.” for the declaration adopted in the meeting.
- B.K. Thapliyal

Chief Guest’s Address

D.Srinivasulu, Commissioner for Agriculture, Government of Andhra Pradesh
D. Srinivasulu apologized that he could not attend the inaugural session, but was glad that he
could at least make it to the concluding session. Extending a welcome to the participants on
behalf of the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the
Department of Agriculture, he appreciated the crusading spirit
of P.V.Satheesh, who, he said, had been championing the
cause of millets for the past two decades. He recalled with
joy his memories of enjoying the millet foods at DDS, and
said that he missed the days when he used to have jowar roti
on a regular basis.
He said he was glad that ICRISAT had adopted millets as a
crop to be promoted in semi-arid and rainfed areas. And it
also pleased him to learn from a scientist that “there is no
need to go for varietal improvement in millets, as the
traditional varieties are good enough in terms of yields.”
He felt sorry that “dietary habits have changed, and the
consumption of millets has come down.” He informed the members that he had recently
discussed the issue of introduction of millets in the National Food Security Mission with an
official of the central government.
Srinivasulu pointed out that he was a little skeptical about the introduction of millets in the
PDS. “There is no point in distributing grain through DR Depots in tribal areas, because of
the political situation in these regions.” Procurement, pricing, availability, and affordability
were the major concerns in handling the mechanism of the public distribution system.
 47
Finally, he requested that the MINI consultation come out
“Millets is not only a
with feasible and practical suggestions for policy makers.
concept, but is also a
Millets should also be a policy friendly crop. He assured the
culture and a symbol of
participants that he would definitely put forth the
national sovereignty.
recommendations of the august body at the highest level and One thing that we have
also sought the cooperation of Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural forgotten is that it is not
University for the same. He concluded by saying that he just a poor man’s crop
would like to interact much more with the participants of but also a farmer
the consultation and hoped that the deliberations would bring friendly and eco-friendly
in a new era for millets. cultivation.”
- D. Srinivasulu
Remarks from the Chair
P. Raghava Reddy, Vice Chancellor, A.N.G.R. Agricultural University, Hyderabad
P. Raghava Reddy opined that while every one is concerned about the fate of millets, the
crux of the issue lies in how they can be protected, conserved and made available to the
farming community for higher crop production and how they
can become accessible to the consumers with much more
acceptability in their food habits. He advocated higher
remunerative prices to the millets and incentives to millet
growing farmers. Imparting awareness to the rural and urban
people regarding nutritive values of millets could also rekindle
the interest in millets, he suggested. He felt that opportunities
be created to the farming community through provision of
best management practices of millet cultivation and by
supplying the best possible seeds. He hoped that the State
Biodiversity Boards would undertake the detailed
documentation of millets and their germplasm in the states
in co-ordination with the other local agencies / institutes
involved in such missions.
He expressed the view that for the millets to take centre “We can certainly
stage in the state and country’s nutrition security, (1) they make millets miracle
would have to be cultivated through popularisation of their crops of India.”
elite lines (varieties) (2) their acceptance has to be increased - P.Raghava Reddy
through value addition, (3) their products have to be marketed
in an attractive and acceptable manner and (4) they would
have to be introduced as a part of the public distribution
system.

Vote of Thanks
Dr Radhika Rani, Asst Professor, CASDM, NIRD, Hyderabad
The programme concluded with a formal vote of thanks to panelists,
resource persons, participants and to all those who made it possible
for the workshop to happen.
 Declaration

Millet Network Of India [Mini]

Millets Can Rescue India From Agrarian, Ecological, Climate Change And
Energy Crisis

The Hyderabad Declaration on millets

June 6, 2008

W
e, representatives from farmer organizations, civil society groups, scientific
community and development academics have met at the National Institute of
Rural Development, Rajendranagar as members of the Millet Network of India
[MINI] on June 5th and 6th in the National Consultation on Millets and resolved that
Millets are the future of Indias food and farming and therefore it is time for the policy
makers to wake up to this reality.
The two day national consultation organized by the Millet Network of India has confirmed
our belief and practice that millets are truly the miracle grains. We have also discussed
the various facets of millet based farming systems, and have come to the conclusion
that with their capacity for multiple securities such as Food Security, Fodder Security,
Health and Nutritional Security, Livelihood Security and Ecological Security, millets are
the food and farming future of India. This leads us to suggest the renaming of millets
as nutri-cereals.
Besides its long list of credentials, millets can grow under completely rainfed conditions
and therefore do not need irrigation for their cultivation. They can be raised in the
harshest of environments and therefore can support farming in the most challenged
ecological zones. They can earn India energy independence since they can be farmed
with either none or very minimum external inputs. This potential of millets has the
capacity to make millet farmers food sovereign.
Unfortunately over the last three decades millets have been progressively marginalized
from the Indian agriculture and have lost nearly 35% of their cultivated area from 45.9
Mha in 1990 to 31.5 Mha in 2005. A slew of policy measures that have ignored millets,
a hostile market and their social undermining by many sectors including media have
been the root cause for this marginalization.
 49
Therefore there is an imperative need to reclaim millets into our farming and policy
landscape. In order to realize this: we are demanding/urging/exhorting.
1. The first need is to put millets into the Public Distribution System. Different parts of
India grow different kinds of millets. Rajasthan along with a large part of Rainfed
India cultivates Pearl Millet [Bajra]. Deccan plateau [Marathwada in Maharashtra,
Telangana in Andhra Pradesh and North Karnataka in Karnataka] is well known for
sorghum. Southern Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Southern Karnataka are
the home of Finger millet [Ragi]. Uttarakhand and other hill and tribal areas cultivate
a range of small millets such as Foxtail, Proso, Kodo and Barnyard. The Indian PDS
system will be enriched with the high nutritive quality of these millets if they are
included in it.
2. A nutritive analysis of millets vis a vis the major grains such as rice and wheat prove
that nutrient to nutrient, millets score over the other grains. They have 30 to 300%
more nutritional elements such as Calcium, Minerals, Iron, Fibre, and many other
micronutrients.
3. The pro millet PDS paradigm must depend on a completely decentralized approach,
supported by the government, both in procurement and in storage. This will resolve
the question of availability and keeping quality.
4. Government must urgently provide space for millet based foods in the ICDS, Mid Day
Meals, Residential schools meals and welfare hostel programmes.
5. All these together will open up new markets for millet farmers and revitalize them.
6. There are a number of institutional mechanisms that needs to be created, nurtured
and developed.

Enabling conditions
1. Millets need a number of enabling conditions. One of them is to increase livestock
which are local breeds and adapted to local ecosystems. This will create a symbiotic
relationship between the farming and pastoralism, such as increased organic manure,
fodder availability, milk production and increased incomes for farmers.
2. The rainfed lands where millets are grown need urgent attention for their productivity
enhancement. This could be achieved through special watersheds on millet lands and
dovetailing government’s empowerment programmes such as NREGA to support millet
cultivation from sowing to harvesting.
3. Millet farms are intrinsically biodiverse. This aspect must not be overlooked. Therefore
farming system development should become the aim and not single crop development.
The monitoring, evaluation and research on millet cultivation must be tailored to this
special quality of millet farming system.
4. Policy makers and donors must take note of the fact that millets make way for a
dynamic diversity on farmers fields.
5. Millets can be cultivated without using groundwater or any irrigated water. Their
energy requirement from sources such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, water and
power can be near zero. Therefore this production system must be honored through
50
offering socio-ecological bonus to millet growing farmers. Appropriate institutional
mechanisms must be developed to assess this.
6. Institutional finance and insurance which is offered generously to farmers who cultivate
preferred grains such as rice and wheat and non food crops must be extended to
millet farmers also.
7. Research institutions must concentrate on a new thrust on millets particularly on
areas and issues that involves productivity and nutrition. The research must also take
on the agenda of conserving the germplasm and using the diversity in crop improvement
programs, particularly for traits related to nutrition and productivity. While such
research from formal science is extremely necessary, farmers' involvement must also
be brought to the forefront with several people-centered and people-directed studies
which are are bound to offer exciting perspectives.

Markets
1. Apart from the focus on community-controlled local food security, millets should
enter the new and emerging markets for the burgeoning health conscious, urban
populations with value addition as health food using appropriate processing and other
technologies.
2. A network of NGO-facilitated markets which promote millets from their areas is key
to this market promotion. This rescues millets from the trap of the corporate controlled
organic markets which have narrow parameters of profit and not the wider concept
of millets.
3. This should ultimately lead to an autonomous federation of millet growing farmers
markets.

Education
1. There is an urgent need to produce a range of educational materials highlighting the
health, nutrition and theraputic values of millets addressing the consumers and
ecological values of millets addressing the farmers.
2. Countrywide there are excellent practices and experiences concerning millet farming,
processing and cooking. These must be documented and experiences shared and
information disseminated.
3. Farmer Exchanges can be key to the revival of millets. Such exchanges should be
supported through appropriate funding support in order to build a new confidence
and vibrancy among millet farming community.
[Endorsed by farmers, scientists, development academics and civil society activists
from the states of Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Maharashtra, major millet growing states of India].
 Participants

S.No State Participant’s Name & Telephone, Cell

Address of Organisation & Email

1. Andhra Pradesh Abdul Karim Mr 08554 246884 / 244222

Rural Development Trust (RDT) 9440547510
Uppapally Road, Bangalore actionf@sancharnet.in
Highway,
Anantapur – 515 002
2. Andhra Pradesh Chendramma Ms
Farmer
Bidakanne Village
Jharasangam Mandal
Medak District
3. Andhra Pradesh Chinna Narsamma Ms 08451 282271
Film Maker, DDS Community communitymediatrust
Media Trust @gmail.com
Pastapur Village
Zaheerabad Mandal
Media District, (A.P)
4. Andhra Pradesh Hampaiah R Dr 040 23741241
Chairman 9849427981
AP State Biodiversity Board agrinova@rediffmail.com
204A, Fribzi Residency,
Yellareddyguda Engineers Colony
Hyderabad - 73
5. Andhra Pradesh Hanumantha Rao K Dr khr@nird.gov.in
Prof & Head, Centre for Wage khrao27@yahoo.com
Employment & khraonird@gmail.com
Poverty Alleviation
NIRD, Rajendranagar, HYD
52
S.No State Participant’s Name & Telephone, Cell
Address of Organisation & Email

6. Andhra Pradesh Jena A C Dr 040 24008515

Formerly Professor, Centre for 9849031062
Agrarian Studies & crr@nird.gov.in
Disaster Mitigation, NIRD,
Hyderabad
NIRD, Rajendranagar,
Hyderabad
7. Andhra Pradesh Joginaidu K Mr 08924 223161 (o)
Sarada Vally Development 9347260022
Samithi(SVDS) svds_org@yahoo.com
Thummapala,Anakapalli Mandal,
Visakhapatnam Dt. - 531 032
8. Andhra Pradesh Kamalamma Ms
Farmer
Shamshuddinpur,
Raikode Mandal,
Medak District
9. Andhra Pradesh Laskhmi Prasad R Mr 9848599828
H.No.6-3-584/32/2, Racharla_prasad@yahoo.com
Gandhitata Nagar,
Anandnagar Colony,
Khairatabad,
Hyderabad

10. Andhra Pradesh Laxmamma Ms

Farmer
Humnapur, Nyalkal Mandal
Medak District
11. Andhra Praesh Madhu Mr 040 27113167 / 27110977
YAKSHI yakshi.a@gmail.com
B228/229. Second Avenue,
Sainkpuri-500094
Secunderabad.
12. Andhra Praesh Prakash H.R. Mr 08946 258700 / 258884
ARTIC 9440343821
Kotturu -532 455. hr.prakash@gmail.com
Srikakulam Dt.
Andhra Pradesh
 53
S.No State Participant’s Name & Telephone, Cell
Address of Organisation & Email

13. Andhra Pradesh Prakash Rao DVLN Dr. 040 24008539

Associate Professor CAS & AM 9441718461
NIRD dvl@nird.gov.in
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad
14. Andhra Pradesh Qayum M A Dr 040 24551440
Formerly Joint Director Agriculture
16-2-839/6/1,
Baquar Bagh Colony,
Saidabad, Hyderabad - 59
15. Andhra Pradesh Radhika Rani C Dr 040 24008515
Assistnt Professor, Centre for 9959968602
Agrarian Studies & Disaster crr@nird.gov.in
Mitigation
NIRD
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad
16. Andhra Pradesh Raghavareddy P Dr 040 24015035 / 31
Vice Chancellor, raghavapr@yahoo.com
Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural pstovc@gmail.com
University
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad
17. Andhra Pradesh Rai K N Dr 040 30713323,
Principal Scientist (Pearl Millet 9963572888
Breeding), k.rai@cgiar.org
ICRISAT
Patancheru – 502324
Hyderabad

18. Andhra Pradesh Rajyalakshmi P Dr 040 24015057

DEAN, Faculty of Home Science, 99896 25229
ANGRAU rajyalakshmiperam@yahoo.
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad co.uk

19. Andhra Pradesh Rama Mohan R V Mr 9440194866

NRM Program, Centre for World ramamohan@cwsy.org
Solidarity
12-13-438, Street No.1,
Taranaka,
Secunderabad – 17
54
S.No State Participant’s Name & Telephone, Cell
Address of Organisation & Email

20. Chennai Salome Yesudas Ms salomeyesudas@hotmail.com

Qtr.No. 30/3, Type IV, salomeyesudas@gmail.com
HVF Enclave Avidi,
Chennai
21. Andhra Pradesh Sanyasi Rao Mr. 040 27113167
Amala Ms Cell: 9440561846
ANTHRA anthra.hyd@gmail.com
B-228/ 229, Sainikpuri,
Secundrabad - 500094
22. Andhra Pradesh Satheesh P V Mr 08451 282271
National Convenor, hyd1_ddshyd@sancharnet.in
Millet Network of India [MINI ]
Pastapur Village
Zaheerabad Mandal
Media District

23. Andhra Pradesh Sesi Keran B Dr, 04027018083

Director 9849081993
National Institute of Nutrition dirnin_hyd@yahoo.co.in
(NIN),
Jamai-Osmania Post Office,
Tarnaka Road, Hyderabad, 500604
24. Andhra Pradesh Shaik Anwar Mr 040 27741891
OXFAM (I) Trust 9704222292
Plot No.18, sanwar@oxfam.org.uk
Amaravathi Co-Op Society, shaikan@rediffmail.com
Karkhana,
Secunderabad – 9
25. Andhra Pradesh Sinha B K Dr
Director General, National
Institute of Rural Development,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad
26. Andhra Pradesh Siva Prasad K Mr 040 27170421
Principal Specialist cum afu06@afpro.org,
Coordinator Action for Food afprohyd@rediffmail.com
Production (AFPRO)
Field Unit - VI, H.No. 1-3-2915,
Nandanavana Colony, Street No. 4,
Habsiguda, Secunderabad – AP
27. Andhra Pradesh Someshwar Rao Dr 040 24019478
NBPGR Regional Horticulture, pandravapasr@yahoo.com
Rajendranagar,
Hyderabad – 30
 55
S.No State Participant’s Name & Telephone, Cell
Address of Organisation & Email

28. Andhra Pradesh Srinivasulu D Sri 040 23232107

Commissioner for Agriculture comag@ap.nic.in
Government of Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad
29. Andhra Pradesh Srinivas Vatturi Mr 040 27503687
Independent Researcher vatturisrinivas50@gmail.com
Hyderabad
30. Andhra Pradesh Sriram Murthy N Mr 040 6661 4787
Sakti 9490064893
305, 1st Block saktisrk@yahoo.com
Janapriya Abodes
New Bakaram, (near Gandhinagar)
Hyderabad 500 080
31. Andhra Pradesh Subramanyam M Mr 040 23383505
Joint Director of Agriculture Cell: 9440816622
(Fertilizers) apfertcomag@yahoo.com
Directorate of Agriculture
Fate Maidan
Hyderabad
32. Andhra Pradesh Suresh K Mr 040- 27015295 / 27015296
Watershed Support Services and 9440804860
Activities Network (WASSAN) sureshkosaraju@yahoo.co.in
#12-13-450, Street No. 1,
Secunderabad - 500 017
33. Andhra Pradesh Thapliyal Dr 040 24008515
Prof & Head, CAS & DM bkt@nird.gov.in
NIRD, Rajendranagar
Hyderabad
34. Andhra Pradesh Upadhyaya H D Dr 040 30713333
Genetic Resources expert 9866986262
ICRISAT h.upadhyaya@cgiar.org
Patancheru
Hyderabad
35. Andhra Pradesh Usha Ms
Sabala
Vizianagaram
36. Andhra Pradesh Varaprasad K S Dr 040 24014072 / 24015478
Officer Incharge, nbpgrhyd@yahoo.com
National Bureau of Plant Genetic prasadksv@gmail.com
Resources (NBPGR)
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad
56
S.No State Participant’s Name & Telephone, Cell
Address of Organisation & Email

37. Andhra Pradesh Vijaya Khadir Dr 040 23513283

Formerly DEAN Home Science,
ANGRAU
G-2, Navata Complex,
Near Electrical Sub Station,
Gowtaminagar, Malkajgiri,
Hyderabad – 500047
38. Andhra Pradesh Vimala Dr 011 22753714,
Formerly DEAN Home Science,
ANGRAU
No 21, Omnagar,
Golkonda Post, Hyderabad - 08
39. Delhi Kanchi Kohli Ms 9811903112
Kalpavriksh kanchikohli@gmail.com
134, Tower 10, Supreme Enclave, kanchi@hathway.com
Mayur Vihar Phase 1,
Delhi-110091
40. New Delhi Sanjay K Rai Mr 9415121462
National Coordinator fianindia@yahoo.com
Fian Indien sanjaykrai@yahoo.com
1 / 14-B, Jangpura - A
New Delhi 110014
41. Jharkhand Mihir Kumar Kundu Mr 06438-284210, 211
PIDT, 9801364859
Lokashala, pidtlokshala@gmail.com
Jagadishpur
Via Madhapur,
Deoghar,
Jharkhand - 815353
42. Madhya Pradesh Rajat Yadav Mr 91989374260
SSS, Rajat_yadav_ss@yahoo.co.in
Block Colony, Knadham,
Nainpur Mandal
43. Maharashstra Anuja Krishna Ms. 020 32907154
ECONET, Sne.econet@gmail.com
2 & 3, Silver Flames, Fatimanagar,
Pune - 14
44. Maharashstra Balasaheb Gaikwad Mr 39326715967
Janwadi Gramavikas Pratisthan
Parbhani Dist. – 431506
 57
S.No State Participant’s Name & Telephone, Cell
Address of Organisation & Email

45. Maharashstra Balnath Sonawane Mr 02425 227134

Lok Panchayat 9421590907
Post Box no. 36, lokpanchayatsnr@gmail.com
Sangamner, Taluka – Sangamner,
District - Ahmednagar- 422 611
46. Maharashstra Ganpat Bothale Mr, 02354 241707
PALVI, At Post Devrukh,
Taluka- Sangmeshwar,
Dt. Ratnagiri - 415 804
47. Maharashstra Vijay Jawandhia Sri 07152-240590,
Shetkari Sanghatana (All India Kisan 9421727998
Sakanavay Sammittee) shetsangh@rediffmail.com
Near Bhagatsingh Square,
Ramnagar, Wardha - 442001
48. Orissa Amulya Baul Mr 06865 285174, 9437641205
AGRAGAMEE amulyabaul@agragamee.org
Kashipur Post, Rayagada – 765 015 achyutdas@agragamee.org
49. Orissa Debjeet Sarangi Mr 0674 2430176
Living Farms, Regional Resource 9938582616
Centre of DRCSC, livingfarms@gmail.com
Plot No.1181 / 2146, drcsc@vsnl.com
Ratnakarbag-2,
Tankapani Road,
Bhubaneswar - 751018,
50. Orissa Prasanth Narayanan Mr 06792 262120
DULAL 09437033920
Convent Road dulalbaripada@yahoo.co.in
Mayurbhanj Dt. dulalorissa@gmail.com
757 001 Baripada
51. Orissa Pushpashree Nayak Ms 0663 2520962,2404974
MASS (MANAV ADHIKAR SEVA 0663 2540936, 9238901480
SAMITI) Water Initiatives Orissa ranjanpanda@gmail.com
Dhanupali, Sambalpur, massorissa@gmail.com
52. Orissa Ruturaj Patnaik Mr & Manoranjan 9437439398
Mohanty Mr ruturaj@sify.com
RCDC Regional Center for Sanjoypatnaik@yahoo.com
Development Cooperation
424, Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar-07
53. Tamilnadu Jayachandran Mr, 044 27539608
OFAI,
Ariyanoor Village,
Periyavenmani, Kancheepuram,
Tamilnadu – 603311
58
S.No State Participant’s Name & Telephone, Cell
Address of Organisation & Email

54. Tamil Nadu Nammalvar G Sri & Mural Mr 94425624589

General Secretary, 9442531699
Tamzhina Vazhviyal Multiversity nammalvar@gmail.com
17/9, 5th street, Srini Vasa Nagar, gnammalvar@yahoo.co.in
Thiru Vanai Koil, Trichy - 620 005.
55. Tamil Nadu Robert Leo M F Mr 04260 272277,
Keystone Foundation, 9443374326
P.B.No.35, Groveshill Road, leo@keystonefoundation.org
Kotagiri - 643217, Nilgiris
56. Tamil Nadu Senthil Kumar P Mr, 044 28293232
Journalist, 9940651074
Pasumori Vikatam pasumai@vikatan.com
57. Tamil Nadu Yuvaraj V S Mr 04179 295 488, 245339,
South Central Indian Network For 9486563429
Development Alternatives scindea@vsnl.net
219, Kottaiyur Road
Yelagiri Hills - 635 853
58. Karnataka Arifulla Mr, 08226 244025/18
Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana 9972273575
Kendra, BR Hills, vgkk@vsnl.com
Chamarajanagar - 571441 hsudarshan@vsnl.net
59. Karnataka Bharmegowdru D D Mr, Ph: 08487-264313 (R)
Dharitri & President, Organic Cell: 09449514329
Farming Association of India ddbgoudra@gmail.com
Yalavatti Post, Shirhatti Taluk
Gadag - 582117
60. Karnataka Ningappa B Mr 080 26784509
Green Foundation 9741014697
H.No.30, Surya, 4th Main, greenfoundation@dataone.in
19th Cross N.S. Palya, greenfound@vsnl.net
BIM Layout, Bangalore-76
61. Karnataka Prakash T N Dr, 080 23620025
Associate Professor UAS 9448772202
Dept. of Economics, GKVK prakashtnk@yahoo.com
Bangalore - 65
62. Kerala Koya C P Mr 0495 2374658
Prayaga 9947022452
Mavilikadave c.p.koya@yahoo.com
Karuvisseri, Kozhikode-10
63. Kerala Rajan Nair Mr 0495 2856357
Sathia Darsana Shylam
Pokakkoor 673 619
64. Rajasthan Khairwal I S Dr Phone : 0291-2571408,
Project Coordinator 09414494279,
AICRP-Pearl Millet pcunit@sify.com
Mandor, Jodhpur – 342 304 aicpmip@gmail.com
65. West Bengal Ardhendu Chatterjee Dr 033 2442.7311
DRCSC 9830073241
58 A Dharmotala Road, drcsc@vsnl.com
Bosepukur, Kasba,
Kolkata 700042
 Selected Presentations
Presentations From Session - I
Millets, Food Sovereignty & regeneration of Rainfed Agriculture

1. Millets – future of food and farming in India

Presentation by Vatturi Srinivas, Independent Researcher, Hyderabad
60
61
62
63
2. From Food Security to Sovereignty
Presentation by P.V.Satheesh, DDS, Andhra Pradesh
65
66
67
68
Presentations From Session - II
Millets, Biodiversity, Ecological farming and livelihood Security

3. Millets in the Nilgiris

Presentation by Robert Leo, Keystone Foundation, Tamilnadu.
70
 4. Biodiversity in Millets
Presentation by Dr. H D Upadhyaya,
ICRISAT, Hyderabad.
72
73
74
75
 5. An Overview of Millet Biodiversity
Presentation by Dr.K.S.Varaprasad, NBPGR, Andhra Pradesh
77
 4. Biodiversity in Millets
Presentation by Dr. H D Upadhyaya,
ICRISAT, Hyderabad.
72
73
74
75
 5. An Overview of Millet Biodiversity
Presentation by Dr.K.S.Varaprasad, NBPGR, Andhra Pradesh
77
Presentations From Session - III
Millets and Health/Nutritional Security

6. Millets and Health/Nutritional Security

Presentation by Dr. P.Rajyalakshmi, ANGRAU, Hyderabad
79
 7.Creating demand for Millet foods
Presentation by Dr. Vijaya Khadir, ANGRAU, Hyderabd
81
82
83
84
85
 8.SORGHUM – HEALTH FOODS
Presentation by Dr. V. Vimala, ANGRAU, Hyderabad
87
88
89
9.Potential of pearl millet and nutritional security
Presentation by Dr. K.N.Rai, ICRISAT, Hyderabad
91
Presentations From Session - IV
Millets and Development Agenda

10.Pearl millet for increased and stable production

Presentation by Dr. KN Rai and Dr. IS Khairwal ICRISAT, Hyderabad
93
11.Re-exploring the Millets of South Konkan, Maharashtra
Presentation by Anuja Krishna, ECONET, Maharashtra
 A film
Milets - The Miracle Grains
by
DDS Community Media Trust