COP 11 biological diversity: The future power of millets - Foodstuff, primarily meant for diabetics today, will emerge as the world's main food and nutrition source for the whole of humanity

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Oct 15: Foodstuff, primarily meant for diabetics today,
will emerge as the world's main food and nutrition source for the
whole of humanity. Experts now look towards Africa for research on
millets, which do not require much water or manure and grow under some
of the harshest climate conditions.

Millets, once the main source of nutrition for millions of people in
India and other parts of the world, are now relegated to the status of
coarse grains and mainly consumed by people suffering from diabetes.

Millets will provide food sovereignty to people in future, as the
temperatures rise leading to change in climatic conditions. “It is now
being realised, though belatedly, that several of Africa’s neglected
cereals could become major contributors to the welfare of nations
around the world,” argue experts from Millet Network of India.

Africa and South Asia have a 5000-year history of cultivating and
consuming millets. It is likely that these crops travelled between the
two continents, acting as an ancient bridge between the two great
cultures. In face of common challenges of hunger and malnutrition, and
of predatory, corporate controlled agriculture, millets are the way
forward towards food sovereignty in Asia and Africa, said Dr PV
Satheesh, national convenor of Millet Network of India.