Trans-cerealisation of food practices

IN PERSPECTIVE

During the past 150 years or so, dependence on rice and wheat as cereal foods has gradually increased, accompanied by an almost total supplanting of traditional Indian cereals like ragi, jowar, other region-specific millets and minor millets.

These two popular bowls of cereal are not only highly water-guzzling but also nutrition-wise, in terms of supplying proteins, minerals and vitamins, not so beneficial as the minor millets.

Dependence on rice as the cereal source is generally said to make one prone to diabetes among Indians, owing probably to the low fibre content in polished rice. Increased consumption of rice and wheat has led to mono-cropping in general, and increased demand for expanding canal-based irrigation, and large river dam projects. Unfortunately, this is frequently beset with crop failures and complementary high losses, loans and loan waivers.

Large irrigation projects have been established particularly since the planning period in India that began in 1951. They have resulted in demand for more such projects — to connect rivers running across disjointed topographies, needing pumping of billions of litres from one valley to another. This is not only electricity-intensive but also causes the destruction of forests. These river-linking projects, whether for irrigation or for hydro-power, jeopardise the environment, carbon ecology and symbiosis between flora and fauna.

In contrast, growing of minor millets that suit respective agro-climatic regions and sub-regions will need less irrigation and can help divert more labour into agriculture, animal husbandry, conservation of crop residue or fodder and dung, and green manure practices.

Avoiding mono-cropping and cultivating pulses, vegetables and fruits will contribute to soil fertility and reduced dependence on chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

The country’s total cultivable area is estimated to be 186 million hectares and area under reliable irrigation is 64.7 million hectares according to recent records. However, there are limitations to expanding irrigation, and dryland farming is being advocated by informed observers.

This also means practising rainwater harvesting and refurbishing of natural and constructed tanks all across the country, which entails land-leveling in sub-regions, in different topographies. Rainwater has to be locally absorbed and conserved for all-weather use.

This requires the complementary consideration of sewage management in all sub-regions and recycling and systemic divorce from freshwater flow channels — contamination of potable water is thus reduced. These will contribute to better use of water resources and possibly encourage flora-fauna preservation and restoring symbiotic links.

Nearly 60% of the Indian population lives in villages and depends largely on agriculture constituting hardly 12-13% of GDP. Multi-cropping and self-generation of inputs in agriculture will contribute to lowering costs and higher absorption of labour; not only physical incomes but also earnings of each participant will rise.

Fillip to rural economy

Support price and financing, purchase and warehousing facilities for millets and pulses, including PDS supplies of millets will encourage farmers to grow these traditional millets and pulses. Emphasis on local production storage and use will imply lowering of cost overheads, a systemic controlling of inflation.

Also, these millets, fruits and vegetables are amenable to processed food production. Agro-based processing can generate employment locally and thus non-farm employment and incomes in villages can systemically increase. Village youth will thus be encouraged to remain substantively in their native places and thus migration into urban uncertainty, misery and crime can be forestalled.

Facilitating diversified production of millets, oilseeds vegetables and fruits in villages will definitely increase rural incomes and attract capital for infrastructure. Until now, this capital has been fast migrating to cities, keeping villages systemically poor.

Inflationary potential in India is largely due to the general paucity of superior foods — milk, milk products, pulses, oilseeds, meat and eggs. Multi-cropping and food processing in all rural pockets will encourage this superior foods production and inflation can be controlled in a major way, accompanied by an increase in incomes. This increase will prompt additional demand for all industrial goods, housing and transport. Housing and transport are known to propel industrial expansion, employment and capital investment.

Thus an all-round encouragement for production and usage of minor millets, oilseeds and pulses and their widespread re-vogueing will propel accelerated development of rural economy, and in turn, urban economy and manpower training across all social sectors.

Increased rural incomes and their spread will have to accompany efforts towards health, social, family, retirement security facilities. In other words, financial inclusion and modernisation of the rural economy will have to follow.

(The writer is former professor, Maharaja’s College)