MADURAI: A. Athimoolam of Sivarakottai is called ‘David’ as there are too many Athimoolams in the village. He did play the role of the Biblical David taking on the mighty Goliath, though unwittingly, in the recent struggle against attempts to take over arable lands for industrial use. By starting a unit to process minor millets, Mr. Athimoolam not only brought back unused lands under cultivation but also prevented migration of people to nearby towns in search of employment.
Today, he operates a processing unit with a huller and de-stoner on behalf of ‘Malaioorani Varagu Urpaththiyalar Kuzhu’, catering to the needs of 300 small farmers.
In less than a decade, Kallikudi and T. Kallupatti blocks have reinvented themselves as the millet growing region of Madurai district. ‘These two blocks have traditionally been growing varagu and kuthiraivali. As major millets found their way into the region, farmers slowly gave up minor millets for maize. We organised a series of awareness campaigns on the benefits of minor millets, and efforts of the Department of Agriculture and Dhan Foundation, a Madurai-based NGO, have brought the traditional crops back,” says Pamayan, an expert in organic farming.
As a result, the farmers have revived minor millets and a growing concern for well-being among people has made food items made with minor millets popular. P. Saroja of Veerapatti was the first one to grow minor millets in her farm. Inspired by the yield she is able to get, more people have gone the millet way.
There have been concerted efforts in the region to promote not only cultivation but also consumption of minor millets. In 2014, the Department of Agriculture provided processing machinery free of cost, along with subsidy, for growing minor millets.
Dhan Foundation has provided value-addition through its Canada-funded programme ‘Revalorising small millets in rain-fed regions of south Asia’. The project focuses on increasing production and consumption of nutritious minor millets and associated pulse and oil seed crops and overcoming constraints in production, distribution and consumption and value addition.
A significant offshoot of the project is improvement in nutrition levels of women and children. Besides increasing production, it also anticipates formation of micro and small enterprises in millet processing and marketing.
Speaking about the advantages of minor millets, Mr. Pamayan points out that they play a crucial role in water conservation as there is low water intake; there is no hybrid seed involved; ideal for organic farming and even when chemical fertilizers are used there is no residue in the produce. A recent innovation in marketing minor millets is the sale of ‘raw’ and ‘boiled’ varieties as in the case of rice.
Signs of enterprises springing up in the region can be seen in places like Tirumangalam, Sivarakottai and Peraiyur.
S. Gunasankar of T. Kallupatti runs ‘Nilacchoru,’ an outlet that sells only food items made with minor millets. In an effort to popularise an alternative and healthy food habit, Mr. Gunasankar runs a mobile food outlet, which is parked on a street at a given time in villages around T. Kallupatti and Tirumangalam.
S. Kalimuthu of Tirumangalam, who has MA and M.Phil degrees in History, has been cooking and serving food made with minor millets at the doorsteps of his clients. “I provided a different variety on every day of the week. It was of help to people who were staying away from home and the aged, who could not cook or move out,” recalls Mr. Kalimuthu. Today, the mobile ‘Nilachchoru’ outlet is immobile and is parked in T. Kallupatti. Mr. Kalimuthu’s food service remains suspended, thanks to demonitisation.
