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Research Paper | Food & Nutrition | India | Volume 13 Issue 4, April 2024 | Rating: 5 / 10
International Millet Year: The Future Food: Nutri - Cereal (Shree Aan)
Dr. Payal Kanwar
Abstract: In India, Millets were traditionally consumed, but due to the push given to food security through Green Revolution in the 1960s, millets were rendered as ?orphan crops? - less consumed and almost forgotten. Before the Green Revolution, millets made up around 40% of all cultivated grains, which has dropped to around 20% over the years. Not only has the consumption of millets declined, but the area under production has been replaced with commercial crops, oilseeds, pulses and maize. These commercial crops are profitable, and their production is supported by several policies through subsidized inputs, incentivized procurement and inclusion in the Public Distribution System. This has resulted in changes in dietary patterns with preferential consumption towards fine calorie - rich cereals. Against this backdrop, the Government of India realized the importance of millets in building nutritional security in the country and made several efforts such as gazzetting millets as Nutri - Cereals, the celebration of the National Year of Millets in 2018, several small - scale policies on millets and proposing the International Year of Millets to UNGA. Millets (Bajra, Jowar, Ragi etc) are one of the oldest foods known to humans. Millets were among the first crops to be domesticated in India with several pieces of evidence pointing to their consumption during the Indus valley civilization. Recognizing the importance of millets, and creating a domestic and global demand along with providing nutritious food to the people, the Government of India, guided by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and spearheaded the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution for declaring the year 2023 as International Year of Millets. The Proposal of India was supported by 72 countries, and UNGA declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets in March 2021.
Keywords: Millets, Nutri - cereal, Shree Aan, Value Addition, Food Security
Edition: Volume 13 Issue 4, April 2024
Pages: 131 - 135