Should we promote Millets to replace Cereals

 Many of us love to eat rice, and for more than half of the world’s population, about 3.5 billion people, rice is a staple food. The grain is not only crucial for food security, but cultivating it is an important source of livelihood for about 150 million smallholder farmers worldwide, most of whom are poor, and many of whom grow their crop on small plots of land of less than 1 hectare.  However, rice production itself has an impact on the climate: significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—methane, nitrous oxide (N₂O) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) are byproducts of rice farming. Rice is responsible for 10% of global methane emissions, and in Southeast Asia, one the world’s major rice bowls, rice cultivation accounts for as much as 25-33% of the region’s methane emissions.Rice is grown in flooded fields, which create the ideal anaerobic conditions for bacteria to thrive on decomposing organic matter (mainly rice straw residue) and release methane. Poor absorption by the rice plant of nitrogen-based fertilizers, often overused by farmers, leads to nitrous oxide emissions. 

Burning of rice residues,stubble,straw produce CO2. Burning is a convenient way for farmers to quickly dispose of large volumes of leftover rice straw. Vietnam’s Mekong Delta produces around 29 million tons of rice straw per year and over 80% of it is burned in the fields after harvest. 

Rice is a water guzzling plant requires around 100cm water during its growing period next to Sugarcane. In canal command where there is assured irrigation, rice is cultivated twice in a year without crop rotation/ crop diversification. As a result pest, insects grows more & become resistant to all varieties of pesticides & insecticides. In Bargarh district of Odisha, it is seen the Brown Plant Hopper(BPH) is quite resistant to all varieties of pesticides & even to higher dose of application. As a resultom cancer. Now Bargarh district is the cancer prone district of Odisha.

Same is the case in Punjab & Haryana where rice has become the main crop. Cancer patients are highest in Bathinda,Mansa,Sangrur,Ferozepur, Faridkot,Moga,Muktsar districts in Punjab called the Malwa region of Punjab.Malwa is the cotton belt of Punjab that uses startling amount of 15 varieties of pesticides with unregulated & excessive use of chemical fertilizer. Even farmers use the empty pesticide  cans to store water & food material. There are around 18 death every day in Punjab due to cancer

The most remarkable feature of this train is that 60% of its population are cancer patients of all ages who come from all across Punjab. This 12-coach train has gained its name from a sudden increase in cancer cases in Punjab that many blame on pesticide use, growing pollution and hardly any response by authorities.On an average, this train is the lifeline of 100 cancer patients daily, along with 200 other co-travellers and is almost always packed to near capacity.All the patients aboard the train undertake this journey to visit Acharya Tulsi Regional Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Prince Bijay Singh Memorial Hospital, in Bikaner, which like many hospitals in Punjab is also covered for benefits under the Mukh Mantri Punjab Cancer Raahat Kosh Scheme (MMPCRKS).In 2011, it was also found that Punjab’s farmers use of pesticides is 923 grams per hectare was way above the national average of 570g/ha.

Because of these four reasons 

(1)Rice is a high Water Intensive crop that deplete ground water.

(2)Rice emits green house gases

(3)Rice pollute NCR of Delhi due to stubble burning.

(4)Rice invite cancer to the cultivating belt.

Scientists/Policy makers/Politicians desire to ban/restrict rice cultivation & replace it with a suitable crop. But can it be Millets ???

Odisha Millets Mission reached out to 51045 farmers in the FY 2019-20. Out of different millets, Finger millet (Mandia) and little millet (Suan/Gurji) cover most of the area in the state of Odisha. Finger millet (Mandia) is the major crop covering more than 80% of the area.

Odisha Millets Mission is a flagship programme of Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment, Government of Odisha. Special Programme for Promotion of Millets in Tribal Areas of Odisha (Odisha Millets Mission) was launched by Govt of Odisha in 2017 to revive millets in farms and on plates.

Millets are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops/ grains. They are tiny in size, round in shape and can be white, gray, yellow or red. Millets are

• Highly nutritious and rich in Vitamin B, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc etc.
• Gluten-free and have low Glycemic index (GI), making them suitable for diabetics, weight-watchers, people intolerant to wheat.
• Helps lower type 2 diabetes and reduces the risk of heart disease.
• Three to five times nutritionally superior to rice and wheat in terms of proteins, minerals and vitamins.
• Great source of starch, making it a high-energy food.
• Excellent source of protein and fiber. 
• Need very little water for production
• Grow in arid and semi-arid regions
• Pest-resistant
• Short growing period under dry, high temperate conditions. (That's why they are very popular in Africa and Asia.

Millets such as Pearl millet, Barnyard millet, Sorghum, Foxtail millet, Little millet, Kodo millet, Proso millet have been grown for thousands of years.

Millets other than Bajra, Jowar and Ragi are not very popular in the present day. Millet Network of India (MINI) promotes millets as nutri-cereals instead of Coarse Cereals.

Millet Recipes-

Millets can be cooked similar to rice and used as a substitute to rice, with dal, sambar, rasam or any curry of our choice. They can also be used to make dosa, idli, upma, pongal, pulao, sweets, in fact any recipe where rice is used. They can also be used in baking. Some millet recipes that you can try out are listed for you. 

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