在印度各州/中央直辖区推广小米饮食最佳实践

PROMOTINGMILLETS IN DIETS BEST PRACTICES ACROSS STATES/UTs OF INDIA PROMOTING MILLETS IN DIETS: BEST PRACTICES ACROSS STATES/UTsOF INDIA Publishing Agency:NITI AayogYear of Publication:2023Language:EnglishISBN :978-81-956821-5-7 Authors: NITI AAYOG Rajib Kumar Sen; Hemant Kumar Meena and Vedeika Shekhar Disclaimer: The document for Promoting Millets in Diets: Best Practices across States/UTs of India is based on secondary data and information received from theDepartment of Women & Child Development, Department of Agriculture,and Department of School Education of States/UTs; various national levelinstitutes and development organisations. NITI Aayog does not guaranteethe accuracy of data or accept responsibility for the consequences of usingthis data, as this document is based purely on information received fromsecondary sources. PREFACE Millets are a wide range of small-seed cereals grown and consumed as a staple diet in aridand semi-arid regions. Millets are traditionally grown for their nutritional richness, low waterrequirement, low inputs requirement and climate resilience. Also known as Nutri-cereals,these are super foods which are storehouse of nutrition. They are rich sources of nutrientslike carbohydrate, protein, dietary fibre, good-quality fat and have substantially high amountof minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc and vitamin B complex(Nutritional composition of millets is at annexure 1).Millets are rich in dietary fiber, help indigestion and prevent constipation. Millets are naturally gluten-free and it is good for celiacpatients. Millets are rich in antioxidants, which protect our cells from free radicals. Further,the low glycemic index of millets helps manage diabetes. A recent study showed that milletscan reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. India produces nine commonly known traditional millets viz.Sorghum, Pearl Millet, FingerMillet, Foxtail Millet, Proso Millet, Little Millet, Barnyard Millet, Brown top Millet and Kodo Millet.According to FAO Stat 2021, India produces around 173 lakh tonnes of millets, constitutingaround 80% of Asia’s and 20% of global production1(India and State-wise area, productionand productivity of millets, 2020-21 is at Annexure 2).India is among the top 5 exportersof millets in the world and its exports have been continuously increasing at around 3%CAGR since last 5 years2. In addition to nutrition, millets provide food and fodder securityto the dry land agricultural communities. They are the most secure crops to small farmers asthey are the hardiest, resilient, and climate-adaptable crops in harsh, hot (up to 50 DegreeCelsius) and drought environments. Despite the benefits of growing millets, over the years, Indian farmers have made a slow butsteady shift in their cereal growing preferences away from millets. The total area of croplandharvesting the three major millet crops i.e.jowar,bajraandragigrown in India has almosthalved across the country since 1966. Thousands of hectares of land under millet productionhave shifted to other crops. Table 1 depicts the trend in the area, production and yield ofmillets since 2010. As seen from the table, production of millets recorded a negative CAGR(-0.94%). Further, area under cultivation also witnessed negative CAGR (-3%). Though thereis a decline in area and production, at the overall level, the yield has shown a positive growthwith a CAGR of 2.12%. (Area in ‘000 Ha, Production in ‘000 Tonnes and Yield in Kg/Ha) The reasons for the decline can be attributed to the promotion of rice and wheat vis-a-vismillet production and lack of suitable initiatives towards millets (All India estimates of area,production and yield of food grains from 2016-17 to 2020-21 is placed in annexure 3). The lowmargins associated with millet production, vis-à-vis other crops, has created disincentives formillet farmers. The relatively shorter shelf life of the crops creates storage related concernsand gives rise to risks of spoilage. Further, changes in lifestyle and consumer tastes, andunavailability of ready to eat millets have contributed to lower demand. Considering potential nutritional role of millets in public health, the Government of Indiadelcaredmillets as Nutri-Cereals through the gazette notification dated 10.04.2018 andcelebrated the National Year of Millets in 2018. India proposed the International Year ofMillets to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with around 70 countries supportingIndia’s constructive proposal and the United Nations General Assembly passed the resolutionto observe 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The timeline of the policy initiatives by Government of India is given in table 2. India being the largest producer of millets and proposer of International Year of Millets-2023,there is a great need for India to exercise the leadership in reviving millets through scaling upand replicating the millets value chain in other countries to levera