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NEWS ALERTS | The Poor Man’s Rich Grain
The Poor Man’s Rich Grain

The Poor Man’s Rich Grain

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published Published on Aug 18, 2013   modified Modified on Aug 18, 2013

The poor man’s rich grain is getting richer – a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition shows that a variety of new pearl millet (more commonly known as bajra), which was conventionally bred to be 10% richer in iron helped iron-deficient children under the age of 3 years, to absorb enough of this crucial mineral to meet their physiological requirements. (See links below for full text and a primer on millets)

The study was carried out in Belgaum by the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical Centre, with 40 children drawn from rural communities in the district, ranging from 22 months to 35 months being fed upma, sheera and rotis made of the iron-rich variety of bajra. Results from this study indicate that children could get their full daily iron needs from just 100 grams of this enriched pearl millet flour. According to UNICEF, 70 per cent of Indian children in the age of 6-59 months are anaemic. Children of mothers who are severely anaemic are seven times as likely to be severely anaemic as children of mothers who are not anaemic.

Advocates of coarse grains have long argued that India’s PDS is excessively centred around centrally procured rice and wheat to the detriment of other more nutritious and locally grown cereals, grown by millions of small farmers in drought-prone or rain-fed areas. The proposed food security act proposes to provide coarse grains at 1 rupee per kilogram, and advocates for the diversification of PDS commodities over a period of time but provides few concrete measures for this.

Iron-rich bajra varieties are being developed using conventional breeding by the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The first iron-rich pearl millet variety (ICTP-8203Fe) was commercialized in 2012 in Maharashtra. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, this richer variety is now being cultivated by 30,000 farmers in various districts if northern and western Maharashtra. This particular variety is also claimed as providing more zinc, being high yielding and drought tolerant, besides being resistant to mildew.

We may recall that the success of India’s Green Revolution is based on adoption of crop varieties with high demand for water and other inputs. Its side effects include soil degradation, raw deal to traditional crops, and progressive drop in productivity. However, the millets require very little water or other inputs and are appropriate for India’s huge rain-fed areas where 80% of India’s poor live. (Over 60% of India’s cultivable land is in dry-lands which are rain-fed and un-irrigated. It is here that 90% of India’s oilseed and 81% of pulses are produced). For records, India has a vast pool of drought hardy and protein rich millets and sorghums capable of providing rich harvest with very little inputs. (See links below for debate on millets and green revolution)


References

Biofortification of Pearl Millet with Iron and Zinc in a Randomized Controlled Trial Increases Absorption of These Minerals above Physiologic Requirements in Young Children-Bhalchandra S Kodkany, Roopa M Bellad et al, The Journal of Nutrition, 7 August, 2013 (please click here to access the paper)
 
 
 
A commentary on decentralising and diversifying procurement for the PDS
http://www.epw.in/commentary/decentralised-procurement-and
-universalised-pds.html

 
A primer on Millets by the Millet Network of India
http://www.swaraj.org/shikshantar/millets.pdf
 
 
UNICEF’s factsheet on iron-deficiency and nutrition
http://www.unicef.org/india/nutrition_188.htm
 
For debate on Green Revolution Vs Rain-fed farming, see the following links:
http://www.im4change.org/blog/has-green-revolution-failed-
indias-poor-12.html

 
Managing water in rainfed agriculture, Johan Rockstrom, Nuhu Hatibu Theib Y Oweis and Suhas Wani,
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/assessment/Water%20for%20Food%20
Water%20for%20Life/Chapters/Chapter%208%20Rainfed.pdf

 
Rainfed Areas of India, Centre for Science and Environment,
http://www.cseindia.org/programme/nrml/e-pov-july07.htm
 
State of Indian Agriculture 2012-13,

 
Report of the Working Group on Watershed Development, Rainfed Farming and Natural Resource Management for the Tenth Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, September 2001,
http://planningcommission.gov.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp/
wgwtrshd.pdf

 
Report of Sub-Committee on More crop and income per drop of water, Ministry of Water Resources, October 2006, http://cwc.gov.in/main/webpages/3.doc
 
 
Chapter 5: Land Resources and Agriculture by Suryaveer Singh (2008),
http://exploringgeography.wikispaces.com/file/view/Chapter
-5+New+2008.pdf

 
 
Mission millets-Hema Vijay, The Hindu, 3 July, 2013, http://www.im4change.org/success-stories/mission-millets-h
ema-vijay-21791.html

 
 
Magic of millets-Ananda Teertha Pyati, Deccan Herald, 9 October, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/success-stories/magic-of-millets-
ananda-teertha-pyati-17473.html

 
 
Centre asks states to include millets in mid-day meals; move likely to ease pressure on food stocks-Urmi Goswami, The Economic Times, 12 September, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/latest-news-updates/centre-asks-s
tates-to-include-millets-in-mid-day-meals-move-likely-to-e
ase-pressure-on-food-stocks-urmi-goswami-17098.html

 
 
Food in anganwadis should comprise local cuisine: panel by Bageshree S, The Hindu, 22 February, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/latest-news-updates/food-in-angan
wadis-should-comprise-local-cuisine-panel-by-bageshree-s-1
3368.html
 
 
Millet group demands local sourcing clause in Food Security Bill, The Hindu Business Line, 9 December, 2011, http://www.im4change.org/latest-news-updates/millet-group-
demands-local-sourcing-clause-in-food-security-bill-11916.
html
   
 
 
Image Courtesy: A primer on Millets by the Millet Network of India
http://www.swaraj.org/shikshantar/millets.pdf


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