bringing back millets for human health and the planet's health

Bioversity International

April 22, 2017Ann Tutwiler, Director General

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Agricultural Biodiversity Nourishes

People and Sustains the Planet

Challenge: Poor Diets World’s Number One

Health Risk

Sources: Ng M, Fleming T, Robinson M, et al. 2014, FAO: The State of Food and Agriculture 2014, Global

Hunger Index 2014. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014) IPCC WGII AR5 Summary for

Policymakers in: Climate Change 2014 – Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change 44 p

Challenge: Farmers Facing Novel Climates

Impacts on Agriculture Predicted by 2050

Source: Adapted from Mathur 2014.

Challenge: Three Crops Provide More Than

Half Of World’s Plant Based Calories

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Millets: Nutritious; Resilient; Neglected

Finger millet Foxtail millet

Little millet Kodo millet

Photos: Top Left – Finger Millet, Bioversity International/N. Capozio. Other pictures reproduced c/o NUS Community Org on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nus_community/sets/

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Mainstreaming Millets in India

Mainstreaming Millet: Farmers

Farmers work together with scientists testing varieties of millets for yield, cultivation, processing, and food

preparation and to learn improved cultivation practices.

Photos: Reproduced c/o NUS Community Org on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nus_community/sets/

Mainstreaming Millet: Seeds

Community seedbanks provide safe storage and enable community families to access seeds at times of

scarcity.

Photos: Reproduced c/o NUS Community Org on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nus_community/sets/

Mainstreaming Millet: Product Development

Getting to work in the laboratory to create and test products.

Photos: Reproduced c/o NUS Community Org on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nus_community/sets/

Mainstreaming Millet: Urban Consumers

Photos: Reproduced c/o NUS Community Org on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nus_community/sets/

Mainstreaming Millet: Rural Consumers

10 minutes – mechanized processing2 hours – traditional grinding

Photos: Bioversity International/J. Cherfas

Mainstreaming Millet: Children

Inclusion of millets in school noon meal scheme in 12 districts in Central & Southern India.

School children had improved weight and up to 37% higher levels of hemoglobin over students eating white

rice.

Photos: Reproduced c/o NUS Community Org on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nus_community/sets/

Mainstreaming Millets: Indian National Food Security Act 2013

The addition of millets to the Public Distribution Scheme in 2013 meaning these nutritious grains are now

available to more than 800 million people via subsidized rates.

Photos: Reproduced c/o NUS Community Org on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nus_community/sets/

Thank you

www.bioversityinternational.org/subscribe

@BioversityInt

M. Ann Tutwiler

a.tutwiler@cgiar.org

@AnnTutwiler