Millets for Food and Nutritional Security for Small and Marginal Farmers of North West India in the Context of Climate Change: A Review

Abstract

In India, 600 million people are dependent on the agricultural sector, the majority of them are small farmers with up to 2 hectares of land holding. Rain-fed is two thirds of the net sown area. About 40 million hectares of this land being flood-prone and about two thirds of it is drought-prone. Geographically, the poorest people typically reside in more exposed or marginal areas, such as on nutrient-deficient soils or flood plains. Due to limited human and financial resources, the poor are also less able to respond and have very limited capacity to cope with the effects of climate change and adapt to a changing hazard burden. The great majority of the world's population is feeds through the current food system, which also supports for the livelihoods of over 1 billion people. Since 1961, The amount of food supply per capita has increased by more than 30%, accompanied by greater use of nitrogen fertilizers and water resources for irrigation. However, 821 million people are currently undernourished, 613 million women and girls between the ages of 15 to 49 are suffer from iron-deficiency, 151 million children under the age of five are stunted, and 2 billion adults are overweight or obese. Millets have a lower carbon footprint of 3,218 kg than wheat and rice, with 3,968 and 3,401 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare, respectively, helping to lessen the consequences of climate change. Because they are less demanding to external inputs, drought-tolerant, and register a comparatively lower carbon footprint than other cereals. Millets have also attracted the attention of growers and policy-makers in the current implications of adverse effects of climate change. After the institutional neglect for a few decades, millets made a comeback because to these beneficial effects. Millets are suitable staples when focusing on the food and nutritional security of the common people. However, the successful millet harvest warrants an integration of proven and climate-smart technologies to meet the future needs of the ever-growing population. In terms of marginal growing conditions and high nutritional value, millets outperform other grains like wheat and rice as climate change complaint crops.