Millets–

an old concept to adapt to new change

.

Farmland use systems in North East India

Sericulture basedShifting cultivation with home gardens

Livestock based Exclusive shifting cultivation

Agri-horti-silvipastralShifting cultivation with valley agriculture

Horti-silvicultureWet rice terrace cultivation, together with shifting cultivation

Cash crop based systems (Broom grass, pine apple and other horticultural crops)

Wet rice cultivation as well as upland rain fed agriculture but not shifting cultivation

Agriculture with alderExclusive wet rice terraces cultivation, irrigated

Mixed homestead gardenWet rice cultivation, no terraces

Agroforestry systemsAgricultural practices

Land use

Banana based agro-forestry

Areca nut based

homegarden

Jhum lands

Mustard cultivation

Plantation

Tobacco cultivation

Homegardens

Wet rice cultivation Terrace cultivation

Different agricultural systems and the major crops grown therein

Type of agricultural Major crops grown

Jhum Paddy+maize+milletschillies+vegetables

Valley

Wet rice cultivation Rice, millets

Double cropping Paddy+maize →

mustard/vegetables/tobacco

Rotational bush fallow Paddy+maize+chillies

Home garden Fruits+ginger+Vegetables

Other field practices Terrace cultivation

Horticultural plantations

Tea cultivation

Cardamom cultivation

Estimated diversities of major crops in N. E. India

Source : NBPGR-NE Region

78 taxaBamboo

19 taxaSugarcane

700 taxaOrchids

16 taxaBanana

17 spp. + 52 vars.Citrus

230Yams

300Taros

15 races, 3 sub races – 1200+

???

Maize

Millets

9650Rice

Estimated diversitiesCrop (s)

Distribution of wild relatives of cultivated

crops in India and as a whole in the

northeastern hill region

Crop Number of Species

NE Himalaya India• Cereals 16 60

• Legumes 6 33

• Fruits 51 109

• Vegetables 27 64

• Oil seeds 1 12

• Fibre crops 5 24

• Spices and

condiments 13 27

• Miscellaneous 13 26

• Total 132 (37.18%) 355

Source: Upadhyay and Sundriyal, 1998

Cereals 2

Millets 2

Vegetable and pulses 17

Condiments and spices 3

Oil yielding 3

Narcotics 1

Fibre yielding 1

Total 33

Rice germplasm 48

Upland 26

Wetland 21

Upland + wetland 1

Corps grown by the Chakmas’ in adjoining villages of Namdapha

National Park

Threats to Agrobiodiversity

• The traditional system was sustainable in the past, but changing now

• Fast changes are taking place in:– Landscapes

– Farming systems

– Individual crops

– People’s lifestyles

– Breaking of traditional sytems

Productivity Sustainability

Change in Ecosystem Function

Reduction inAnimal & Microbial

Diversity

Reductionin Plant

Biodiversity

Change inResourceavailability

Intensification ofIntensification ofIntensification ofIntensification of

ManagementManagementManagementManagement

InterventionInterventionInterventionIntervention

Biodiversity therefore is a keystone in sustainability, and its Biodiversity therefore is a keystone in sustainability, and its loss loss

has been one of the common outcomes of agricultural intensificahas been one of the common outcomes of agricultural intensificationtion

Impact of agricultural intensificationon an agroecosystem

The Card

• Millets are produced in 18.50 million ha by 28 countries covering 30% of the continent. There are nine species which form major sources of energy and protein for about 130 million people.

• Millets are consumed as staple food (78%), drinks and other uses(20%). Feed use is still very small (2%). As food, they are nutritionally equivalent or superior to most cereals; containing high levels of methionine, cystine, and other vital amino acids for human health. They are also unique sources of pro-vitamin A (yellow pearl millets) and micronutrients (Zn, Fe and Cu) which are especiallyhigh in finger millet.

• Future trends need increasing productivity and trade (regionally and internationally) and adding value to products by improving/increasing processing and utilization in industry. More research-for-development (R4D) and networking are required to achieve these.

Millet Production Area

• Region/Country Area Production (million ha) (million tons)

• AFRICA (28 countries) 18.50 11.36 -East and Central Africa (8 countries) 3.36 2.01 -Southern Africa (10 countries) 1.20 0.75 -West Africa (10 countries) 13.94 8.60

• ASIA 16.99 15.17

• India 13.95 10.70• China (mostly foxtail millet) 1.90 3.67 • USA (mostly proso millet) 0.15 0.18 • Argentina (mostly proso millet) 0.04 0.06 • World (all cultivated millet species) 38.10 28.38

• Production of millets is still at subsistence level by smallholders (0.3-5.0 ha farm size) and consumed as staple food and drink in most areas.

• These millets production areas coincide very well with where most of the poor live

• One most significant importance of the millets, which present them as focus for major agricultural research and development efforts, is their widespread adaptation in marginal production and niche areas.

• They provide farmers with the best available opportunity for reliable harvest, food and nutrition in environments with erratic and scanty rainfall, and low soil fertility levels

• About 80% of the world’s millet is used as food, with the remaining being used for stockfeed (2%), beers (local and industrial), other uses (15%) and bird seed

• Animal feed as forage, grain and residue is still insignificant

Value Addition

• Millets have good grain qualities suitable for processing.

• Processing of the grain for many end uses involves primary (wetting, dehulling and milling) and secondary (fermentation, malting, extrusion, glaking, popping and roasting) operations.

• Being a staple and consumed at household levels, processing must be considered at both traditional and industrial levels, involving small, medium and large-scale entrepreneurs.

The Market

• The greatest constraint in the realization of importance of millets is in their handling and limited use by the producers, processors and consumers. The harvesting, threshing, and processing for food are mainly done by women at the household level.

• Commercially, there is a slow and emerging trend in the industrial use of millets at the national and regional levels.

• Because of its nature and ecology of production areas, the mainly cultural and household processing and consumption pattern is yielding to more and more cottage, medium and large scale practices

Research-4-Development

• There are important researchable and development issues that confound or influence the importance and status of millets, and their potential in commercialization and trade.

• Adaptation and improvement of local varieties and local variety derived materials have been the forms of research

• Demand would also be enhanced through knowledge and use of grain technological and nutritional qualities of the millets by industries in both developing and developed world.

• Productivity increase of millets would surely entice processing industries and markets for value-adding and economic returns.

Research-for-development (R4D) should focus on strategies to enhance and expand demand, in the short-, medium- and long-term. Recommended strategies would include:

– 1. Increasing production and productivity: to improve competitiveness and close up deficit gaps; and ensuring food and nutrition security.

– 2. Promoting millets for commercialization and markets through:

- improvement of processing and utilization methods and technologies13, including fermentation, malting, steaming, micro milling, compositing and product development.

- diversifying end-use products to include ready made, non-conventional and better-packaged, more presentable conventional foods.

- Expanding the use of pearl millets in livestock feed industry

- Expanding the use of millets in malting, brewing and by-products industries

- Expanding the options for millets use in novel food products, novel traits, biofortified food products (using their unique qualities with high levels of Copper, Iron, Zinc, Magnesium and Manganese nutritional convenience and health snack foods.

- Evaluating, developing and emphasizing grain and food product qualities and standards for industry and end uses

- Developing sustainable regional trade in millets raw and finished products14 through improving market channels and trading volume with maintenance of quality and standards

– 3. Increasing and diversifying millets utilization through

- Technology, knowledge, and information dissemination, transfer and exchange13 including equipments and facilities, and markets

- strengthening and creating new linkages and human resources development through training, education and networking within and across sub-regions

- expanding awareness to improve status of millets by generating healthy government policy environment

- better utilization and involvement of professional expertise, and interdisciplinarity

- closer interactions between public and private sectors including producers, consumers, processors, intermediaries mainly traders and middlemen, and distributors

Over all,…

• Millets are still the staple food for millions of poor people.

• Being high-energy nutritious grains make them useful components of dietary and nutritional balance in foods.

• However, the continued and future importance of millets as food are in food and nutrition security due to them having good amounts of untapped potential for yield increases through hybrid development and production, superior yield gains under drought and resource-poor environments

• Production of good grain qualities suitable for processing, and unique nutritive values with significant amounts of essential amino acids (lysine and methionine) minerals (especially micronutrients including calcium, zinc, iron and phosphorus) and vitamin A (in form of beta-carotene in yellow endosperm pearl millet); the quantities, qualities and bio availability of which need more improvement as reviewed in the grain properties and utilization potential of millets.

The Research Thrust

On the research-for-development front to increase production and productivity, more

efforts should be put on:

– developing and producing millet hybrids (topcross and population cross) with sustainable seed systems, for both the hill and valley agro-ecosystems to extend to more productive agroecologies

– farmer-friendly IPM packages for the control and management of economically important weed, insect and disease pests focused on pearl millet and finger millet as priority

– enhancing intergrated resource management for soil-water-crop livestock systems in millet-based production systems

– continuing with more vigour the processing (primary, secondary and tertiary) and utilization methodologies; equipment and facilities development, fabrication and modification; and grain quality assessment with product quality and standards

– fostering interaction and networking for millets R4D and information access within and across regions and sub-regions

Components of the traditional

village ecosystem

Household

Market

Animal husbandry Forest

Agriculture

Extent of

Shifting Cultivation

Agroforestry-alternative to Jhum Comparison of jhum vs. agro-forestry

Economic factors

Systematic Intensive Labour

Used sometimesNot usedInorganic fertilizer

High Low Carrying capacity of land

Complex Complex Ecological status

Source: Arunachalam et al. 2002

Production sustainedDiversity conservedSustainability

Less More Local adaptability

Intervention Traditional valueCultural value

More than one rotationOne rotationCropping pattern

Trees grown with cropsSlashing & burning followed by cropping

Approaches to cultivation

Socio-cultural factor

High Low Monetary input-output

More Low Carbon sequestration

Low (restricted)High Biodiversity

External controlInternal Homeostasis

Low High Fragility

Ecological factors

Agroforestry JhumFactors

Biodiversity

Abiotic environmentHumans

Nature's propaganda in the biosphere

Managing the

interface is the

challenge?

Biosphere

HumansPlants

Animals

Microbes

Atmosphere

Land, Soil & Water

Interactions

Interventions

Disturbance

Degradation

Environmental linkages

Restoration

Conservation

Climate Change

• Impact & Vulnerability

• Coping strategies & Adaptation

• Research Gaps & Future action

Lush Green Jatropha cultivation

in NE India

Horticulture / Medicinal Plants

• : There is a lack of information, database and marketing linkage of some

• medicinal plants (records)

• : Still there is a illegal but large market • of these plants.• : Needs conservation through cultivation.

: A central market in co-operative basis • may be established with proper • information system.

• A need for biogeo database

Coping strategy

• Migration

• Change in choice of animals…!

• Network of PDS

• Change of cropping pattern

• Change of crop

• Responses to differential variation in climate/environment

• Cultural landscape approach…..!!!!

1. Emanates from the cultural contours of the community concerned

2. Evolves with close contact with specific environment and communities intimate knowledge of their environment

Constituents of IK

1. Production, transmission and utilization of IK & IT

2. Role in Nation Building (a). medicine & health, (b). food system, (c). arts, crafts & material, (d) . socio-cultural

3. Encompasses cross-cutting and supportive issues (IPR, national policy formulation and governance, integration of IKS with other knowledge systems

Traditional knowledge

Figure 1. Never underestimate the importance of local knowledge

Source: India Today, June 10, 2002

IPR

• Is it protecting the TEK???

KEY

• “We should not discard old technology (IKS) just because it is old”

- M. S. Swaminathan

• Poverty reduction is a key to reduce vulnerability to climate change…

Processes of succession in a jhum fallow after site abandonment

Primary forest

Slash & burn

Cultivation

& harvesting

Abandonment

Fallow

Secondary forest

regrowthNear original state?

Mixed bamboo forest

Grassland

Restoration!

• Acid test to ecologists

Natural process

Human directed

Rehabilitation of jhum lands

Terracing

Horticulture

Secondary forest

Jhum cultivation

Agroforestry

Market PricesDirect valuesGoods and products

Indirect values

Ecosystem services

Option values

Existence values

Direct valuesNature tourism

Effect on Production

Replacement Costs

Cost of Providing

Substitutes

Cost of Avoided

Damage

Productivity &

cost-based approaches

Travel Costs

Contingent Valuation

Surrogate market & stated

preference approaches

Ecological

EconomicSocial

Dimensions to Environmental Management…….

Humans

A SEE Approach…….!!!

Database

Documentation

Information

Inference

Collection

Methods

Analysis

To know

To understand

To forecast

Informatics - The Change in the Pathway…….

Survival ???..

or

Cultural Ethics - Ecopsychology

• Cultural values of millets

• Festivals…and rituals….

• Primary processing - patterns …..

• Sustenance-based?

• Traditional Ecological knowledge

• Gender Issues

The bottleneck

• Extent of awareness….sensitization of younger generation

• Ability to appreciate traditional foods with sensitivity

The Potential

• Promoting traditional foods for nature tourism…

• Fodder

Multiple Securities….

Promotion….

• Consultations…at different levels…

• Partnership mode….

• All India Coordinated Project

• Audio…Video…Success Stories….for sensitization….

• Policy measures….(e.g. integrating with mid-day meal programme or PDS….healthcare systems)

Policy

People

Politics

A PPP Process………

Environment

The need of the hour

• To have sensitization on this tradition as a means of livelihoods in the present day conditions to have progressive socio-economy of the farming communities in particular.

• ‘Good Cultivation and Collection Practices’

• ‘Good Manufacturing and Marketing Practices’

• Technological backstopping and Institutional linkages

Thanks

Let us save tradition, traditional cultivars and

work towards enhancing production and

economic returns to sustain livelihoods!