Minor millets in South Asia: learnings from IFAD-NUS project in India ...

144 minor millets in south asia
millet in ensuring food security including nutritional security, enhancing income
and employment, value addition and diverse product development and better
utilization of poor marginal lands by growing finger millet. Finger millet is a
crop of subsistence farming system and an income generating crop for women
farmers especially through local beverage production in the hilly regions and
hence it needs to be given a fair treatment by getting included in the national
research and development agenda in Nepal.
13. Impact of the project
The project has been successful in creating awareness among the people in Nepal
about the importance and usefulness of finger millet towards the nutrition aspects
and health benefits. Also the stigma of its low status food was reduced to some extent
and the farmers as well as consumers were convinced about the important role it can
play in reducing the risk due to heart diseases and type II diabetes. It has further
demonstrated the possibility of enhancing income through the development and sale
of diversified finger millet based products. The training and skill enhancement of
the farmers and entrepreneurs convinced them to venture in to value addition and
product development activities aimed at income generation. The farmers were also
got motivated to grow important landraces and high yielding improved varieties
and adopt better cultivation practices to enhance production and consequently the
income.
14. Recommendations
Based on the experiences and lessons learnt from the implementation of this project,
the following major recommendations emerged:
Greater emphasis needs to be given to enhance productivity of finger millet
through the use of better varieties and improved cultivation practices.
Concerted efforts need to be made to strengthen research capabilities in
product development and build capacity through the provision of need based
equipments and training.
More efforts need to be made to explore possibilities and encourage microentrepreneurs
to produce millet based products in potential millet growing
areas.
Popularization of appropriate machines, tools and equipments for the efficient
cultivation as well as processing, value addition and product development
needs to be given due emphasis.
Efforts should be made to standardize the methods for preparation of nonalcoholic
drinks. Also, assistance should be provided to the local people for
the preparation of good quality alcohol within the legal frameworks.
Establishing links with markets in order to promote the value added products
is extremely important and needs to be given greater thrust.