SRI SRI UNIVERSITY

Millets are a collective group of small seeded annual grasses and are believed to be among the earliest domesticated plants, which have long served as traditional staple crops for millions of farmers. Millets form a relatively inexpensive source of nutrition especially to the underprivileged population of the world. Over the years notwithstanding the wide range of benefits that millets provide, they have largely been missing from the staple crops due to inadequate knowledge of their benefits compounded by changing dietary habits. In the recent years, lot of efforts have been taken by various government, and non- government organizations to promote millets as an important dietary choice especially to ensure food security for all. In this context, it is significant to note that the proposal of Government of India to United Nations for declaring 2023 as International Year of Millets was supported by 72 countries and United Nations’ General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 as International Year of Millets on 5th March, 2021. The resolution declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets calls on all stakeholders to provide support to activities aimed at raising awareness thereof and framing and directing policies with respect to nutritional and health benefits of millet consumption, and their suitability for cultivation under adverse and changing climatic conditions, while also directing policy attention to improve value chain efficiencies. Helping millets make a comeback is not just popularization of a neglected and underutilized crop but also an effort to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) – mainly SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production), and SDG 13 (climate action). In the search for climate resilient solutions, millets could be a crucial link in sustaining the food supply chain especially for the less privileged nations. With this conference, we hope to reach out to maximum number of stakeholders at global level and help in disseminating the knowledge gained through these deliberations to support production and consumption of millets, coupled with enhanced consumer awareness of their nutritional and health benefits. The conference aims to showcase millets as a viable and sustainable alternative to modern cash crops.