Indian celebrating 2018 as the millets year

Idli, dosa, upma, dhokla, khakhra, cookies, chappatis, cakes: These are just some of the food in which traditional grains such as sorghum (jowar) and millets, as varied as pearl millet (bajra) and finger millet (nachini), are being used instead of wheat and rice. They have also made their way to restaurants and ready-to-eat packaged food companies as healthy alternatives. Every region and tribal belt in India has its own local variety and preparation style of millets. While jowar and bajra are popular in the West, grains like oodhalu (barnyard millet) and navane (foxtail millet) are more popular in the South. In fact, some of these hardy grains have been mentioned in our ancient texts like the Yajurveda, which talk about agriculture, economic and social life during the vedic era. Yet, their consumption and cultivation had been on the decline for the better part of the last century. In 2016-17, the area under millets stood at 14.72 million hectares, down from 37 million hectares in 1965-66, before the pre-Green Revolution, according to a March report by Hindu Business Line. However, this is set to change. The Indian government is celebrating 2018 as the year of millets. In July, it hiked the minimum support price (MSP) on some of these crops, making them more lucrative for farmers to grow. Millets are also good for our water-scarce country, since they require less water to grow than rice and wheat. Also, consumers are demanding them. Millets are whole grains making them an excellent source of fibre, which is good for the heart. Moreover, they are gluten-free, which makes them suitable alternatives for wheat and even to expensive Western super foods, such as quinoa and oats. This has contributed to their popularity over the last decade. Demand for these healthier, economical and sustainable local alternatives is also being fuelled by restaurants and bakeries, which promote organic and local agriculture, and have come up across the country in the past 2-3 years.