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Finger millet now ICRISAT’s mandate crop
Finger millet now ICRISAT’s mandate crop. Diabetic patients have happy tidings as the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has made plans to promote the cultivation of finger millet on a larger-scale and made the cereal its mandate crop. Finger millet, popularly known as ragi, figured among the six small millets in the research portfolio of the institute.
Efforts are being made to pilot and incubate small and medium entrepreneurs from among farmer groups and individuals to develop products for the market
Hyderabad: Diabetic patients have happy tidings as the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has made plans to promote the cultivation of finger millet on a larger-scale and made the cereal its mandate crop. Finger millet, popularly known as ragi, figured among the six small millets in the research portfolio of the institute.
“Finger millet has always been within our mandate crops but we want to provide greater visibility to this nutri-cereal that offers so much to both smallholders in the form of economic opportunity and to consumers (including farm families) in the form of improved nutrition,” ICRISAT Director General David Bergvinson said in a statement.
The ICRISAT genebank holds nearly 6,000 finger millet germplasm accessions from 24 countries, conserved for use in research and development. Among the ICRISAT projects that focus on finger millet, the Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement of Sorghum and Millets in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (HOPE) project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is showing encouraging results in improving productivity of finger millet and household incomes in East Africa.
This was achieved by enabling farmers to adopt improved varieties and associated agronomic practices and linking producers to both input and product markets, the statement added. In Karnataka, finger millet is among the ‘climate smart’ crops that figures high on the agenda of the government.
Along with its partners, ICRISAT is targeting commercial production of finger millet, diversification of household-level diets, value addition and processing for food, feed and industry. Efforts are being made to pilot and incubate small and medium entrepreneurs from among the farmer groups and individuals to develop products for the market.
Through a multi-institutional collaboration, ICRISAT scientists in East and Southern African region have generated a whole genome sequence of finger millet. This opens a new chapter in future breeding of this nutritious crop. The other mandate crops of ICRISAT are sorghum, pearl millet, chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut.
