Abstract:
With a constant hike in the demand for the Indian diet, there is an urge in improving millets production in India. Millet value chain suffers from inconsisitent supply and demand due to near absence of production spport, lack of reach of improved methods of production technologies, lack of public procurement and marketing support that prevents its commercial viability. Hence, this study aims to assess the production-to-consumption levels, and the current demand-supply imbalance, and to forecast these key variables for the foreseeable future. Results indicate that the area declined by 3.59 percent from 1950 to 2021; while the production increased frons to 6.10 lakh tonnes. Both domestic consumption and productivity increased by 0.74 percent and 3.36 percent annually. Rajasthan and Sikkim provided over 40 percent of the total Indian production of small millets. Millets require a minimal quantity of water, but the nutrient composition is the major source to address the issues of food and nutritional security and hence it would be a positive sign for both the production and environmental perspective of the country’s ever-increasing population. Time series analysis indicated that the forecasted area under millets would be declining from 87.69 lakh ha (2020), to 75 lakh ha (2025) and 64.29 lakh ha (2030). The results of the study also inferred that avoiding intermediaries/middle man in the marketing channel in maize and the processors in South India should force sourcing and manufacturing processes to shrink the marketing cost. This study throws light on the dynamics happening for millet from farm to fork in India which would facilitate the policymakers to evolve suitable strategies to achieve food and nutritional security.