The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023) during its 75th session in March 2021. Following which, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on December 6, 2022, organized an opening ceremony for the IYM 2023 at Rome, Italy. The Government of India, which sponsored the proposal for IYM 2023, has been at the forefront in promoting millets. Initiating the year-long celebration in the country, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare hosted a special 'Millet Luncheon' for the Members of the Parliament at the Parliament house on December 20, 2022. PM Narendra Modi had shared his vision of making IYM 2023 a 'People's Movement' alongside positioning India as the 'Global Hub for Millets.'
The purpose behind this global initiative is to raise awareness about the nutritional and health benefits of millets, promote the sustainable production of millets, and provide new sustainable market opportunities for producers and consumers.
Millets are a diverse group of small-seeded grasses, popularly grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Because their surface is rough, millets are known as coarse grains. The grains under this category include: sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), little millet (kutki), foxtail millet (kakun), proso millet (chena), barnyard millet (sawa), and kodo millet (kodo).
Recognizing the nutritious characteristics, the Government of India (GoI) notified millets as "Nutri-Cereals" in 2018.
Millets contain higher mount of protein than various cereals and are even considered nutritionally superior to wheat and rice. Millets are also known to have a more balanced amino acid profile than other cereals. Moreover, they are a good source of phytochemicals, which possess anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. They coarse grains are abundant with nutrients like carbohydrates, protein, dietary fibre, good-quality fat, minerals (such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc) and B complex vitamins.
Health benefits of eating millets are:
Most importantly, millets can be grown with the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. India is the largest producer of millets in the world and fifth-largest exporter.
