Millets as a group of crops are represented by sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), and minor millets like banyard millet, proso millet, Kodo millet, and foxtail millet. Being an excellent source of essential nutrients to the millions of rural poor in India, they are also called ‘nutritious cereals’. Millets are the staple food for the world’s poorest and most food insecure people across the semi-arid tropics. The crop improvement programs on Millets and Directorate of Sorghum Research, under the umbrella of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and other institutions in both public and private sectors are working to improve the livelihood of dryland farmers through the improvement of millet productivity.
The “Society for Millets Research” (SMR) has therefore been formed to provide a common platform to all the individuals engaged in research and development efforts on Millets. This society has been formed to create a meaningful mandate of actions and groups (both regional, national and international diasporas) to enhance global competitiveness of millets through efficient and environmentally friendly production technologies, value-addition, and marketing as a significant food, feed, fodder, fuel, and bioenergy crops to ensure nutritional security, environmental quality and economic prosperity of resource-poor dryland farmers of India. The primary goal is to develop a society that can grow to serve the cause of millets through a partnership with the industry and other interested stakeholders to promote millets utilization.
Read More: https://www.millets.res.in/society.php
