Year Of The Millet And The Impact Of Digital Technologies

Millets are a grain that are high in protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Because of their superior nutritional value, millets are commonly referred to as "superfoods." The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare states that India produces numerous different types of millets, accounting for 20% of the world's output and 80% of production in Asia. However, its promise to address climate change and food security has not yet been fully realised. It has been the main staple food in central India for millennia. Because of this, millet production is declining in many countries, despite the fact that millets can grow on relatively poor soils with comparatively fewer inputs than other cereals, even in difficult and desert conditions.
To reduce food waste, the disorganised food processing system needs to be standardised by providing FPOs and SHGs (self-help groups) with technical assistance, access to financing, and enough storage space.

Millets International Year
The year 2023 has been declared the "International Year of Millets" in an effort to raise awareness of the benefits of the grain for human health and its capacity to adapt to shifting climatic conditions. Millets present a unique chance to boost worldwide production, assure efficient processing and consumption, promote crop rotation, and emphasise their significance as a staple food. This is made possible by the International Year of Millets.
India is now ready to lead the world by teaching other countries about established values, technical breakthroughs, the advantages of millets, and best practises after the International Year of Millets was declared. Entrepreneurs and Farmer Producer Organizations were urged by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers to help scale the value chain for millets, connect to domestic and foreign markets, and create an inclusive framework that incorporates producing communities. As a result, at the "Food, Agriculture, and Livelihood" fortnight event conducted in early 2022, a large number of start-ups and FPOs displayed cutting-edge agri-tech solutions and sustainable & healthful millet-based commodities.

Reviving millet farming
Millets are hardy plants that can withstand exceptionally high and low temperatures and a wide range of agro-climate conditions. Some types of pearl millet may survive in temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius. Most significantly, these crops have a lower carbon footprint than wheat and rice, which have carbon footprints of 3,968 kg and 3,401 kg, respectively. This helps to mitigate the effects of climate change. In comparison to rice, sugarcane, and wheat, millets also demand less water. When used as a feedstock for the production of bio-ethanol, millets provide a significant cost advantage over maize while requiring 40% less processing energy.
According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization, millets were produced on a progressively decreasing area between 2000 and 2019 at a compound annual growth rate of 2.25%. Since productivity increased at a rate of slightly over 2% over this time, millets' output remained basically unchanged. The consumption statistics is equally unimpressive; despite millets' high nutrient content and climate adaptability, consumers have rejected them. Research from the International Crops Study Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics indicated that between 1962 and 2010, India's per capita consumption of millets decreased considerably, from 32.9 kg to 4.2 kg per year.
Over one lakh farmers in the 15 districts of the state have reportedly been motivated to plant millets by the Odisha Millets Mission. The OMM has made millets easier to produce, process, market, and eat by promoting better agronomic practises. Raising awareness, establishing a minimum support price, integrating millet in the public distribution system, and offering integrated child development services have all been prioritised as ways to restart millet production. The same can be done anywhere.

Why does the "traceability" of the food supply chain matter?
Increasing millet production alone is insufficient; the millet value chain must also be strengthened. Traceability is not a novel concept. In a variety of supply chains, it has been present to varied degrees, particularly notably in the B2B sections of the chain where transaction volumes are high. End-to-end traceability was uncommon, nevertheless. Up until now, it was believed that consumers wouldn't care where a product came from as long as it was beneficial to them. However, traceability takes into account the product's place of origin as well as what happens to it as it moves through the supply chain.

• Food that can be traced back to its source and the conditions under which it was prepared, transported, and stored is safe.
• Traceability along the supply chain between the farmer, consumer, aggregator, processor, and distributor promotes trust. Trust is crucial for commodities or unbranded products like basic meals, fruits, and vegetables.
• A subgroup of the consumer class is the "fair-trade" consumer, who is interested in the price the producer is paid. The consumer price and farmer's share equation might be correctly solved by solutions for traceability.

Conclusion
The Indian government is actively encouraging the purchase and consumption of millet in the nation as well as the use of purchased millet for distribution through the TPDS/ICDS/MDM Scheme. Young people will be inspired by the International Year of Millets to suggest technology or business solutions to issues that already exist in the millets ecosystem. Due to the International Year of Millets, especially among urban residents, the perception of millet as a staple food for the poor will alter. The government has clearly taken a commendable action, and the next step is to make millet goods widely available in urban supermarkets.