After bestowing it with the status of ‘Shree Anna’ or divine food in 2023, this year’s Budget had no mention of the humble millet. Data show that the demand for niche value-added millet foodstuffs is not helping to tackle supply side challenges.

Data from a recent MOSPI report on agricultural GVO (gross value of output) reveals that the production of millets has stagnated in the last decade despite rising MSP (minimum support price).

Analysts attribute this to a decline in the area under cultivation for the crop, as farmers prioritise rice, wheat, and other cereals with better profit margins.

The GVO (at current prices) of millet crop has been almost flat over the last 12 years with CAGR of low single digits.

For instance, the GVO of ragi stood at ₹2,01,465 lakh as of 2011-12 and in 2022-23, this figure was at ₹3,94,753 lakh, clocking a CAGR of 4.4 per cent.

The output value has also fluctuated during the 12 years, and is not linear. Similarly, jowar’s GVO in 2011-12 was ₹9,80,657 lakh, moving up to ₹10,82,852 lakh in 2022-23 with annual fluctuations.

The GVO of small millets, which include foxtail millet and little millet, has grown from ₹41,345 lakh in 2011-12 to ₹76,958 lakh in 2022-23. In contrast, MSPs for the millet crops have been rising.

In case of ragi, the MSPs were set at ₹3,150 per quintal in 2019-20; this is now at ₹4,290 per quintal after the recent revision in June 2024. MSPs of jowar and bajra too have increased.

India is the largest producer of millets in the world, with Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand among the top millet-producing States.

However State-wise analysis of millet production shows fluctuations in the shares of each State.

Analysis by Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) shared with businessline shows that in the case of ragi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have reduced the cultivation area by almost 40 per cent in the last decade, and Karnataka has increased the area by 25 per cent. Soybean, cotton, paddy, and maize are among those that replaced the area under millets.

“Crops like small millets need specialised processing machinery and that has impacted output to an extent,” B Dayakar Rao, Director and CEO, Nutrihub-TBI and Principal Scientist, IIMR, says.

“Consumption is picking up and once this stabilises, we will also see a positive change in output,” he says, adding that millets must be brought into the ambit of PDS to mainstream the grain further.

The RBI’s 2023-24 annual report points to a significant yield gap. “Although millets are considered drought resistant, minimal but assured irrigation would be critical in bridging the yield gap. Labour, fertilizer and machine usage are negatively and significantly related to the yield gap,” the central bank said.

 (With inputs from Mridula Krishnaraj, intern at businessline)

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