KAMPALA – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Tuesday urged Ugandans to grow millets on a large scale considering their formidable source of healthy and nutritious food amidst climate emergencies and depleting natural resources.
Dr Antonio QUERIDO, Representative, FAO Uganda made the call during the International Year of Millets commemoration (IYM).
The International Year of Millets was declared by the United Nations General Assembly, at its 75th session in March 2021.
At the commemoration, FAO sought an opportunity to raise awareness of and direct policy attention to millets’ nutritional and health benefits and their suitability for cultivation under adverse and changing climatic conditions.
Under the theme, “Rich in Heritage, Full of Potential”, IYM 2023 aims to contribute towards achieving the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, focusing on six key SDGs.
Dr. QUERIDO says millets like sorghum require limited inputs, including water, to thrive which makes them some of the most important food security crops because they can withstand climate change challenges like drought and their cultivation does not affect the health of the environment or existing biodiversity.
“Millets are small powerful whole grains, packed with essential nutrients that make them very important for sustainable health and nutrition security. These are some of the traits that merit millets being called “smart crops”. It is no wonder therefore that millets were among the first plants to be domesticated in the world.”
He notes that embracing millet cultivation has the potential to uplift smallholder farmers, enhance nutrition and biodiversity, and contribute to a more sustainable and circular economy.
Dr. QUERIDO noted that with millet growing, farmers are less likely to make losses given their resilience potential.
“They are there when others are not: Millets can survive harsh climate conditions and can grow in poor, degraded soils. They are tolerant to many crop diseases and pests and so offer solutions to food scarcity, soil degradation and biodiversity loss.”
He added that millets are rich in healthy diet by providing antioxidants, minerals and protein. “They are a cost-effective source of iron and can provide nutritious and healthy alternatives to the usual refined grains in the global market.”
Also, FAO Uganda boss noted that millets offer innovative and promising livelihood opportunities for small-scale farmers since are easy to grow, climate resilient and drought resilient and are compatible with less sophisticated farming methods.
Dr. Michael Ugen – Director of Research, National Semi-Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI) says finger millet, sorghum and other millets are nutritional security crops – characterized by high concentration of dietary fibre, phytochemicals and essential amino acids, presence of essential minerals (iron, zinc, calcium) as well as gluten-free status.
“The rich nutritional properties of millets have several health benefits including reducing malnutrition in children, managing diabetes, improving borne health, reducing the risk of anemia, helping in digestion, increasing milk production in lactating mothers, improving the performance of hearts by reducing cholesterol and act as an anti-aging food.”
He noted that the two crops are major source of income for the ordinary farmers- when they sell grains or make local brews and sell.
According to him, sorghum has become an industrial crop as a raw material for making beer and over 50,000 smallholder farmers get their income by supplying sorghum to Uganda Breweries Limited and Nile breweries, while many other Ugandans get employment in the other sorghum value chain.
Current production statistics
Dr. Ugen, however, decried the declining production and productivity of finger millet and sorghum despite their essential role.
He said that the current national finger millet production stands at 142,000 metric tons produced in an area equivalent to 283,600 hectare of land with average productivity of 0.5 metric tons
“The total land area under sorghum is 400,000 ha with average annual production of 320000 tons and the productivity of sorghum at farmer field is 0.8 t/ha which is too low.”
He attributed the decline to the lack of country millet development strategy to guide the development and expansion of millet value chain in Uganda.
“As we recognize the importance of millet, there is an urgent need to develop a country strategy to improve millet production and promote processing and value addition for sufficient quality that meets domestic consumption and surplus for export and industrial use to improve household food and nutritional -security and increase household income.
He also decried limited research in the entire millet value chain including areas of crop improvement, agronomy, value addition and value chain development.
Dr. Ugen also highlighted the Lack of mechanization in the entire millet value chain – noting that many people are shunning finger millet production due to intensive labor requirements.
“To increase the productivity of this crop, there is a need to customize machinery for crops like finger millet for planting, weeding, harvesting, •threshing, cleaning and grading. This will attract youths to take up millet as a crop for business but will also reduce, drudgery among women who are the major contributors of the labor force during production and post-harvest processes.”
Other challenges he highlighted include; poor seed systems and agronomy practices, climate variability characterized by erratic rainfall, drought and heat remain threat to these crops, limited value addition and value chain development, lack of public awareness on the nutritional and healthy benefits of millets, lack of stable market and market structure and lack of proper statistical data on production, demand and supply, export and import data on millets.
He called for the establishment of a national millet task force with specific objectives to promote the production, processing, consumption and popularization of millet, strengthening the seed chain, mainstreaming the improvement of the nutritional traits in millet breeding programs to develop bio-fortified millets, primary and secondary processing of millets, creation of additional demand for millets through mainstreaming of millets in the public distribution system like flour blending, school feeding programs, serving millet breakfast in all hotels and restaurants, among others.
Officiating at the event, Maj. (Rtd) Kyakulaga Fred Bwino – Minister of State for Agriculture said that millet is deeply rooted in Uganda’s agricultural traditions and has sustained the communities for generations – given its ability to adapt to diverse climates, coupled with its nutritional richness.
He said that by amplifying efforts to support millet farmers, they are only bolstering the livelihoods of hardworking men and women who depend on millet cultivation but also contributing significantly to the agricultural backbone of the country.
“In the face of climate change and increasing environmental challenges, millet emerges as a beacon of hope. Its resilience to adverse conditions, low water requirements, and minimal environmental impact position millet as a key player in sustainable agriculture. Let us seize this opportunity to promote climate-smart farming practices, emphasizing the cultivation of millet as a means to build resilient and adaptive agricultural systems.”
He added, “Among the cereals grown in Uganda, finger millet ranks third after maize and sorghum and its production is on a decline with on farm average yield of less than 1 ton/hectare compared to its potential yield of 5 tons/ha. Some of the constraints to millet production include the subsistence nature employed by smallholder farmers, farmer neglect, use of low-yielding varieties, the low pace of genetic improvement, poor agronomic practices, insect pests, diseases, declining soil fertility, poor post-harvest handling, and limited support, among others.”
The Minister said that the Government is committed to harnessing the potential of millet for the benefit of our people and the global community through strategic policies, research, and partnerships – aiming at promoting sustainable millet farming practices, improving value chains, and raising awareness about the nutritional benefits of this extraordinary grain.
During the event, there was a showcase and exploration of the diverse culinary uses of millets, hearing from experts on the nutritional and environmental benefits of millets, and showcasing innovative millet-based products and initiatives.
