Ancient grains to address modern challenges (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Context:
- Food systems of the world are in crisis. With declining diversity in the food basket and depleting natural resources, the ability of the world to provide food for its inhabitants is becoming a difficult task every day.
- While the agriculture sector is adversely impacted by the climate change, it also contributes to overall 24% of all GHG emissions.
- Synthetic fertilizers and pesticide usage, deforestation, excessive irrigation, ploughing, solarization due to fallow lands, etc are the main concerns.
IPCC report:
- The IPCC report, besides indicating the expected decline in yields of major staple crops like rice and wheat due to increase in temperature based on the geographical locations, has also warned that the protein content of rice, wheat, barley and potatoes could fall by 6 to 14%, putting people at risk of protein deficiency.
- In addition, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, depleting aquifers and global volatile markets are going to be a major challenge.
- Rising malnutrition and COVID-19 pandemic highlighted not just the need for food security, but also nutrition security that policy makers need to grapple with.
Challenges in Odisha:
- With climate change expected to have an effect on yields of major crops such as rice and wheat, countries like India and states like Odisha have major challenge to feed a burgeoning population.
- Per capita emission of the state (2015-20) is 2.35 metric tonnes and is 11.4% more than 2010-15 (1.88MT). This shows need to immediately focus on reducing carbon footprints by moving crops with less GHGs and less fertilizer and pesticide use.
- In the uplands of Odisha, the fertilizer application efficiency is very less due to high rainfall and high slopes.
- The state of Odisha is divided into 30 districts with 6.2 million Ha of cultivable land across 10 agroclimatic zones. Paddy occupies more than 50% of the cultivable area. 22% of the state population is tribal. The state is extremely prone to natural disasters.
- In the span of 50 years between 1970 to 2020, only 3 years were completely normal. In addition, climate change projections by ICAR-CRIDA show that frequency of dry spells will increase in Odisha in coming years.
- The mal-nutrition burden is another daunting challenge that Odisha, or the country is facing.
- The latest NFHS-5 figures indicate that malnutrition indicators have worsened in many states since the last survey.
- Besides under-nutrition, obesity and overweight are also of policy concern. Therefore, to address these wicked problems, key food-system based strategies need to be identified and adopted.
- It is in this scenario, Odisha Millets Mission (OMM) has been conceptualized to tackle the twin challenges of climate change and malnutrition.
- Moreover, as millets in Odisha are grown in marginal lands by smallholders, mostly tribals, equity and inclusion are embedded into the design of OMM.
Why millets?
- There are many reasons to promote millets, be it climate resilient nature or their ecological footprint or their nutritional content.
- Government spends substantial amounts each year on irrigated agriculture. But rainfed areas which constitute more than 50% of the area and are more vulnerable receives less investments.
- So, Odisha Millets Mission is aimed not just to be a technical or technocratic intervention, it is deeply driven by ideas of equity and justice to ensure sustainable futures for its indigenous communities.
- Building on these ideas, the government of Odisha launched Odisha Millets Mission in 2017 in 30 blocks covering 7 districts to revive millets in farms and plates.
- OMM incorporated a participatory approach to governance during its design. It involved research organisations, civil society organizations and government agencies actively to develop every aspect of the program. Primary was given to field level successful experiences during the design of the mission.
- The state government has allocated nearly Rs 3,000 Crores for its Millets Mission till 2026-27. It is the largest funded program by any state government on millets in India.
Objectives:
Promoting household-level consumption:
- Massive awareness campaigns at the village and Gram Panchayat levels are covered through WSHGs with the active involvement of Anganwadi workers and village-level influencers.
- Food festivals, millet recipe events, millet mother events, street plays, awareness through raths, rallies with school children, coordination events with all line department and Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) members during Village Health and Nutrition Day (VHND), distribution of communication materials, etc. are some of the events conducted to promote household consumption in program blocks.
Promotion of decentralized post-harvest and processing facilities:
- Drudgery and the absence of modern processing facilities are the key challenges in millet processing. Under OMM, equipment such as thresher, tarpaulin, etc. are provided to Women Self-help Groups (WSHGs) as post-harvest services at village and GP levels.
- Destoners, cleaning & grading units, and dehullers are promoted for farm mechanization at GP-level clusters by WSHGs/FPOs. Based on the available factors, large units are established at the district level by FPCs/MSMEs.
Promotion of value addition enterprises:
- Under the OMM, value-added enterprises are encouraged at different levels. WSHGs/FPOs operate tiffin centres/kiosks at GP/Block level, FPOs manage millet outlets/mobile outlets at the district level. WSHG Federations run Millet outlets/millet shakti restaurants in urban areas.
- The trademark for “Millet Shakti” has also been registered for the same. High-level value-added products are now being developed through collaboration with Startup Odisha and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department.
Improving productivity of millet cropping systems:
- Crop demonstrations with improved agronomic practices such as the system of millet intensification, line transplanting, line sowing, and intercropping through natural farming, are encouraged under OMM.
- For the demonstration, the minimum area per farmer is 0.2 hectare (Ha) and the maximum per farmer is 2 Ha per year. For adopting the suggested agronomic practices, incentives of up to Rs 26,500 per Ha are given for five years as support through direct benefit transfer (DBT) in a tapering manner.
- In addition, Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) are promoted at the GP level. The purpose of CHC is to support farmers by making available drudgery reduction equipment like weeders, markers, sprayers, irrigation equipment, etc. locally at low rents.
Conservation and promotion of landraces:
- Participatory varietal trials are done with local landraces and improved varieties under the technical guidance of State Agricultural University and Indian Institute of Millets Research.
- Local landraces preferred by farmers are then taken for seed release and multiplication.
- The Government of Odisha is the first state to come up with detailed guidelines on alternate seed systems for landraces. WSHGs/ FPOs, produce seeds with suitable engagement with champion farmers. The focus is on multiplication and supply for farmer-preferred landraces/ varieties.
Procurement and inclusion of millets in supplementary nutrition programs:
- Under OMM, a unique decentralised procurement systems through Women Self-help groups/Farmer producer organisations by Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation Ltd has been developed.
- This decentralised system ensures that procurement locations are opened close to millet production centres. Entire system is digitalised with Aadhar verification and ensures payment is received within 72 hrs of the procurement to the bank account of the beneficiaries.
Millet Divas:
- Odisha is the first state to declare a day for Millets and Mandia Dibasa (Millet Divas) is being celebrated on November 10 since 2022.
- OMM has approved a unique approach to celebration of International Year of Millets 2023.
Indicators:
- With support of SDG cell in Planning & Convergence Department, OMM mapped different indicators and sub indicators linking SDGs and Millets, with an aim to ensure every activity of OMM is SDG sensitive and is redesigned accordingly.
- OMM has initiated formation of a Gender Analysis Committee (GAC) with experts from UN, ICAR, OUAT, etc. to look at every intervention of OMM from a gender point of view and suggest recommendations, with an aim to make every intervention of OMM gender sensitive.
- One of the suggestions that emerged from GAC is to focus on single women headed households, which have since been followed.
Way Forward:
- The World Food Programme has identified the Odisha Millets Mission as one of the best practices that can be replicated in African countries as part of South-South Collaboration.
- There are myriad challenges in promotion of millets in the country, for the farmers and all stakeholders in the value chain. There are also issues that the agricultural research ecosystem has to address.
- The OMM experience has thrown positive and interesting insights to revive millets in farms and plates.
- A consistent policy support, particularly in the procurement of the marketable surplus for usage in the Government delivery channels, and simultaneously creating massive awareness on the health and environmental benefits of the nutri-cereals, will go a long way to sustain the momentum created for the ‘orphan and humble’ millets, beyond the International Year of Millets.
