Neglected and Underutilized
Species Community

Kutki millet (Panicum sumatrense)—also known as little millet—is a small cereal grain that has been grown in Asia since approximately 2700 B.C. In recent years, increasing entitlements for subsidized rice and wheat through India’s Public Distribution System has slowly replaced millets in Indian diets. Millets were neglected from research and development during the innovation of the Green Revolution. Thus, kutki millet has experienced lower productivity, despite its desirable traits such as water efficiency and heat tolerance. Nevertheless, renewed focus on enhancing production of kutki millet could greatly improve nutrient availability as well as climate resilience for farmers in this region, while also providing an income-earning opportunity.

Kutki millet is grown during the monsoon (“kharif”) season, and sowing typically begins in June. Kutki millet has a short growth cycle. They are water efficient and adaptable to a variety of growing conditions. They may be cultivated in rainfed, marginal areas with low soil fertility, and at altitudes of up to 2100 meters. Typically, kutki millet is grown on less fertile lands, such as hilly tracts, and is used as an intercrop with legumes, gram, or sesame, requiring little to no inputs. Thus, kutki millet enables farmers to increase their overall farm production, by utilizing areas of land not suitable for other crops, such as rice and wheat. Kutki millet is typically more resistant to pests and diseases than other cereals; however, it is still particularly susceptible to shootfly. Fortunately, various methods have been used by farmers to prevent shootfly, such as early planting, lower planting densities, and intercropping. Yields of kutki millet range from 225-560 kg/ha, and in a good season may even reach up to 900 kg/ha. Furthermore, kutki millet may be stored for long periods of time without suffering insect damage, providing a means of food security and diet diversity to households during shortage periods.

Small millets, including kutki millet, are low in fat and high in fiber and protein. Kutki millet is particularly high in the sulfur-containing amino acids Cysteine and Methionine, and overall has a more balanced amino acid profile than other cereals. Kutki millet is especially rich in iron, and is also an excellent source of carotene and zinc. Kutki millet also contains antinutrients such as tannins, phosphorous, and phytic acids, which limit nutrient absorption by forming complexes with micronutrients including iron, calcium, and zinc, as well as proteins and carbohydrates. Antinutrient levels are often reduced throughout the processing stage. Dehulling, decortication, and various methods of cooking have been noted to lower antinutrient concentrations.

Post-harvest processing is predominantly carried out by women. Their process begins by threshing the grain with their feet, followed by dehusking, which is done with a pestle and mortar. However, these processes are very tedious due to the small seed size of minor millets, in addition to their several layers and hardness, often causing the grains to break during manual processing. To combat these difficulties, pre-treating of millets before processing has been adapted by many millet-growing communities. This most commonly involves applying heat to the grains before milling in order to weaken the starch granules and cause swelling. Kutki millet may then be milled by hand grinding with a stone quern to make flour. Improvements in mechanical grain-processing technology and its increased availability are needed to reduce the amount of time and energy women currently spend on manual processing. After dehulling kutki millet can be cooked like rice, and used as a substitute for wheat and rice in various food products. Roti, mudde, and porridge are the most common traditional foods made using millets or millet flour. However, because millet protein lacks gluten, to prepare roti, millet flour must be mixed with hot water to gelatinize the starch.

A holistic approach addressing multiple bottlenecks in supply and demand of minor millets is being applied in Madhya Pradesh through the project “Linking agrobiodiversity value chains, climate adaptation, and nutrition: Empowering the poor to manage risk". Multiple stakeholders are being consulted and involved to devise value chain interventions for these millets that are pro-poor and gender-sensitive. Led by Action for Social Advancement (ASA), key actions being taken include increasing availability of high quality seed, building collective action, and marketing to raise consumer awareness and demand.

Three farmer producer companies in the Project area are being engaged in commercialization of millet seed and grain. Profits from the business are distributed equitably among over 2,500 farmer shareholders in the company, who are mostly women. To improve the availability and use of higher quality millet seed, participatory selection of millet varieties and production of high quality seed is being carried out. Local farmers produce the seed, which is purchased by the farmer producer company and marketed locally through their storefronts. In addition to seed, aggregation of millet grain is being organized through the farmer producer companies to reduce the number of middle men between the farmers and consumers to achieve a better price through bulk sale. The farmer producer companies carry out primary cleaning, grading and color sorting, giving farmers a share in the value-added price.

Processing equipment to ease drudgery and increase the quality of processing is a key action being taken to increase rural consumer interest and demand for minor millets. Food fairs and targeted marketing for urban consumers are other activities being pursued to increase consumer awareness and help reverse perceptions of millets as “food of the poor”.