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

72 minor millets in south asia
area and 54% of total production of finger millet in the country. Finger millet is
being grown widely in southern part of the state, while the little millet and foxtail
millet are important for northern Karnataka.
5. Participatory surveys on uses, constraints and opportunities
5.1. Documentation of local and traditional knowledge on the use of small millets
for consumption
Although many varieties have been released for cultivation, their adoption by farmers
had been the minimal. In vast dryland areas where little millet, foxtail millet and
finger millet were grown, the growing conditions were different from those that
were prevailing on the research stations. As a result, there is a high probability that
an improved variety performing well in research stations may not perform up to
expectations in the farmers’ fields. This situation has led the farmers not to have
any preference for the new varieties and hence the farmers continued the cultivation
of local/traditional cultivars having lower genetic potential. As a consequence, the
grain yield productivity was low. This situation could be improved by providing
varieties/cultivars selected by the farmers through participatory varietal selection
and accepted by them for cultivation in these areas.
With a view to understand the farmers’ perception and needs on varietal choice,
a survey using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques was undertaken during
April- May, 2002. This was done by individual farmer survey using the proforma
especially developed for this purpose. PRA helped in assessing the cropping system,
economic status as well as the features of varieties that farmers were looking for.
The results of PRA survey revealed: (i) the majority of the small millets growing
farmers were looking for a variety possessing drought tolerance with higher grain
and fodder yield and in finger millet, they also wanted resistance to blast, (ii) the
farmers were growing traditional varieties with low yield potential and were not
aware of high yielding varieties released at the state and national level, (iii) the life
of rural people was strongly influenced by social conditions, and (iv) the division of
work between men and women showed that they had different fields of experience
and expertise and accordingly some traits were perceived more important by women,
while others were considered more important by men resulting in different rankings
for specific traits.
A household survey involving 100 families was undertaken in the villages of
millet growing areas of Karnataka based on purposive sampling to gather information
on traditional knowledge on the uses of millets for consumption, processing and
existing milling technologies. Ethnic foods were standardized in the laboratory and
evaluated for nutritional and sensory quality characters by thirty trained judges
(Swaminathan, 1995) and were also analyzed for cost: benefit ratio of millet products.
Consumer need based value added millet products were designed by modifying the
basic traditional recipes of major food grains by application of simple indigenous
processing technologies to emphasize, nutritional, functional and sensory qualities