In the Kolli hills of Tamil Nadu, a genetically diverse pool of minor milletvarieties has long been traditionally grown by the tribal farming communities fortheir own consumption without being formally traded. Despite a traditionalconsumption preference for minor millets by the local population, in recent years thearea devoted to minor millets has declined considerably. They have tended to besubstituted by market-oriented cash crops such as tapioca, coffee, pepper and fruitcrops. In response to this development, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation(MSSRF), a leading non-governmental organisation based in Chennai, has beenattempting to create an economic stake for farmers in the conservation of these cropsover the last 10 years in the Kolli Hills. These programmes aimed to increase themarket potential of minor millets through value addition by involving the localfarming community (MSSRF, 2002).