Underutilized Climate-Smart Nutrient Rich Small Millets for Food and Nutritional Security

Small millets such as finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, kodo millet, little millet and barnyard millet are considered as climate-smart and nutrient rich crops. They have diverse adaptation and play an important role in food and nutritional security in rural households in areas where these crops are grown globally. However, their presence in the food basket has been declining over the years, mainly because of the increased availability of rice and wheat, lack of crop improvement efforts in developing high yielding cultivars, and lack of modern technologies for processing and utilization. Over the last few years, there is an increasing recognition of their nutrient composition and benefits as healthy food. Considering their diverse adaption and agronomic and health benefits, small millets could be an alternate/supplement crop to widen food basket to ensure food, feed and nutritional security. More research effort in germplasm collecting, conserving, evaluating and utilizing, and developing high yielding cultivars, processing and utilization technologies, and policy innervations are required to promote small millets cultivation, and for food and nutritional security of vulnerable population under climate change scenario for sustainable agriculture