A steady decline in consumption of millets was a matter of growing concern, said speakers at the eighth edition of Madurai Symposium here on Friday.
Entrepreneurs, farmers and scholars discussed emerging trends in processing and value addition of millets. Speaking to The Hindu , M. Karthikeyan, Programme Leader of Rainfed Farming Development at DHAN Foundation, said millet industry faced three problems - low production, difficulties in processing, and lack of popularity among general public.
Millets could be grown in any area were rain-fed crops were raised. They were drought resistant, he said. The theme of the symposium is ‘Building resilience for sustaining growth.’
N. Varadharaju, Head of Post Harvest Technology Centre at Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, said non-availability of subsidies discouraged farmers from raising millets such as proso, barnyard, foxtail and kodo. “Free rice is supplied through Public Distribution System, leading to its large-scale use. Unless this changed and over emphasis on rice is stopped, millets cannot be promoted,” he said. Some policy level changes such as Mission for Sustainable Dryland Agriculture (MSDA) were providing farmers with production and processing inputs, said Mr. Karthikeyan.
Entrepreneurs T. S. Urmila and R. Rajalakshmi, who sell millets in Madurai and Chennai respectively, said lack of awareness kept people away from their products. “Substituting a millet-based item instead of the popular rice or wheat will ensure better health,” said Ms. Urmila from Madurai.
With a view to promoting millets, the DHAN Foundation has taken up a research project in partnership with McGill University, Canada, and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.
