Title : The revival of small millets in Assam, India: Current trends and strategies for the future
Abstract:
Millets are climate-resilient, nutritious, and well-suited to Assam’s agro-climatic conditions. Their capacity to thrive on marginal soils with minimum inputs makes them an excellent alternative for promoting sustainable agriculture and addressing food security issues in the state. This paper examine how small millets can be incorporated in the changing agricultural condition of the state despite being a forgotten crop with a lower acerage and revenue. Using secondary data and employing techniques such as Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), Coefficient of Variation (CV), Markov-Chain analysis, and Relative Terms of Trade (RTOT) for both yield and revenue, the study highlights the marginalization of small millets amidst a trend toward high-value crops like oilseeds, pulses, and fruits and vegetables from the period 2002-03 to 2021-22. The findings reveal that while paddy remains the dominant crop, its share in the gross cropped area has declined from 61.71 percent to 59.97 percent over time. Area substitution coupled with the revenue terms of trade has shown preference of other crop groups over small millets. The small millets could retain only 19.68 per cent of their area. There was no area substitution among small millets and other crops, except rabi paddy and kharif oilseeds. RTOT in terms of yield can only be found higher for small millets when compared with oilseeds whereas RTOT in terms of output is higher in all the crops when compared to small millets except for Rice-Small Millets during the period 2007-08 to 2011-12. The study examines the potential of reintroducing and scaling up millet cultivation that requires addressing socio-economic and ecological challenges. These include enhancing farmer awareness, improving market linkages, and integrating millets into state-level agricultural policies.
