Economic Empowerment of Women, Millet Farming, and Sustainable Development

Background

In the 21^st century, the government of India has implemented many programs to empower women in every sector of the economy through education and providing employment opportunities. The Indian government’s policy is focussed on the economic dimensions to bring about social transformation, economics progress, and prosperity through programs linked with women’s empowerment in general, and for rural women in particular, through inclusive agriculture transformation. In 2012, Indian government policy initiative for ‘Nutritional Security’ provided incentives for rural women to take charge of their food and nutritional security through intensive millet cultivation and production. Millets the ancient grains have a 5000-year-old rich intangible cultural heritage from Indus-Valley civilization to 3^rd millennium BC with a large potential to achieve social, economic, and environmental benefits for sustainable development (Dal Corso et al., 2022; Das & Ismail, 2023; Morrison, 2016). Millets have significant health benefits, packed with essential nutrients, are gluten-free, high in fibre, and low glycaemic-index, providing long-term immunity to the consumer. Millets have multiple uses as human food, animal fodder and for brewing beer (Dal Corso et al., 2022).

Nealy 97% of variety of Millets are cultivated in dry lands and consumed as staple food in developing countries with vulnerable population, to overcome food scarcity, and climate resilient crop in extreme drought or high salinity conditions in India, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia (Azare et al., 2020; Meena et al., 2021; Meldrum et al., 2020; Rana & Sahoo, 2023; Saxena, 2018 & 2019; Shah et al., 2023; Singh et al., 2022). With the current climate crisis, the importance of millets in sustainable agriculture has gained renewed attention in developing countries such as India and Niger. Millets are climate-resilient sustainable crops and can survive and thrive in drought to extreme high temperatures in arid and semi-arid regions of developing countries, with poor soil without any expensive fertilizers (Gujral, 2017). Millets are resistant to crop disease and pests and help to improve soil health and reduce soil erosion. India is the largest producer of 26.6% of world millets, with 83% of its land under Millet cultivation in whole of Asia (Sood et al., 2019). Millets are popular with consumers who are vegetarians and value traditional Ayurvedic sattvic food, indigenous, and organic food grains (Sarkar et al., 2015), with high nutritional energy and health benefits (Kumar et al., 2023).

Before the ‘Green Revolution’ of 1960s in India, millets were 40% of total grain production, which dropped to 19% of global share, and replaced by oilseeds and large-grain cereals like wheat and rice for consumption. Given the background the Indian government declared 2018 to be celebrated as the “National Year of Millets” to drive food security and introduced various schemes and minimum support price, to provide incentives and support the cultivation of superfoods “Millets” by small scale subsistence farmers. Women in rural India are actively participating in growing millets to sustain their families food and income. The President of India awarded Nari Shakti Award (Women Power Award) for women empowerment on behalf of the All-India Millet Sisters (AIMS) Network, to a widowed woman named Mogulamma from Zaheerabad village in Telangana state, in 2018, for being a successful tribal rural women farmer for growing millets on her two-acre land, end hunger and ensure food security for their families and encourage millet bio-diverse ecological farming practises to her AIMS sister (Down to Earth, 2023; Muthamilarasan & Prasad, 2021; Rana & Sahoo, 2023). Later Mogulamma also received the UNESCO Equator Prize in New York for environmental conservation and sustainable farming practices and reduce gender discrimination in the society.