Case4-August-2017
In India, declining cereal diversity in diets is one of the key factors behind malnutrition and the prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. Bringing back or inclusion of small millets in the mainstream diets could contribute to an answer. Small millets perform well in marginal environments and have superior nutritional properties, including high micronutrient and dietary fibre content, and low glycemic index. However, there has been a drastic decline in production and consumption of small millets in the last few decades, mainly due to limited productivity, high drudgery involved in their processing, negative perceptions of small millets as a food for the poor and policy neglect when compared with other crops.
The limited quantum of production has resulted in limited private investment on processing and marketing, which in turn, resulted in a limited number of food products in the markets, poor availability and higher prices, leading to poor demand. Poor demand in turn, is exerting a negative feedback effect on the production, processing and marketing, leading to a vicious cycle. This vicious cycle can be broken only through comprehensive and integrated ecosystem level interventions aiming at demand stimulation by promoting household consumption, increasing production, developing decentralised processing infrastructure and local market development taken up simultaneously (See Figure) at local and regional food system levels. This paper deals with policy support needed for establishment of decentralised processing infrastructure, an important component in the overall framework for revalorisation of small millets.
Hulling is the process of removing the outer husk from the grains. It is a vital process for obtaining grain-rice and further processing of grains for consumption. Traditionally, small millets were hulled manually by women in the production regions, and this process involves significant drudgery and time. Lack of villagelevel processing infrastructure and high drudgery related to manual processing have resulted in drastic decline in consumption of small millets other than finger millet in the production regions. Lack of regional level processing infrastructure resulted in moving out of the limited produce from the production regions to distant processing zones such as Nashik and Maharashtra, thereby crowding-out the local consumption. Thus, the price spread in the value chain is more and consequently, the price of small millet rice is more than paddy rice and wheat, making them less affordable to a large number of consumers. The emergence of regional processing units in southern India has shortened the value chain, thereby aiding local and regional consumption.
In these ways, development of local/ regional processing infrastructure development remains one of the important factors for enhancing the status of small millets in mainstream diets in the local and regional food systems.
While there has been focused support in some parts of the country for increasing production and promoting consumption, there has been meagre support for establishing decentralised processing infrastructure and market development, the missing links. Specific support is needed from the government on the following aspects in an orchestrated manner:
Research on small millet processing has been quite inadequate and has been mostly limited to value-added product development and hulling. For establishing small millets as a food category in the markets for wider consumption, there is need for user-centred research with a focus on nutrition, food safety and viability of enterprises for addressing the following research gaps:
Most of the equipment currently used for processing of small millets is the improvised version of paddy processing machineries. Limited scientific research inputs have gone into their design through technology transfer. Limited formal research on standardising the processing equipment as a process line has been done. The hulling efficiency (calculated as share of millet rice kernel to total grain processed) and quality of output have been less than acceptable. On the processor side, the high cost of processing to achieve acceptable quality rice increases the price of small millet rice substantially, thereby hampering the volume of sales. Therefore, there is need for fine-tuning the existing processing equipment and develop new ones to (i) Improve the quantity and quality of output, (ii) Reduce drudgery in processing, (iii) Improve ease of use, maintenance, safety and stability, and (iv) reduce footprint and cost of the machinery.
The development of appropriate technologies for increasing shelf life of rice, grits/semolina and flour and value-added products without compromising on quality and nutrition of the product will strengthen the small millet market significantly in the short and long term.
Product standards have to be evolved with the focus on nutrition and food safety for ensuring quality and for product differentiation. Developing user-friendly product standards in a scientific way involving different stakeholders can help in product improvement and product differentiation. This in turn will help to improve the consumer acceptability and product utilisation diversity.
Some of the by-products of small millet processing are shattered millet rice kernel of inferior quality, immature grains, husk, and husk rich flour. Enhancing utilisation of by-products through an established market, as in the case of paddy processing, will help in reducing the cost of processing to an extent.
Research is needed for developing effective and easy management methods to manage kodo millet poisoning that can be deployed in the pre-processing stage.
Government needs to support research for addressing above mentioned research gaps by supporting a multi-stakeholder innovation platform involving research Institutions, equipment manufacturers, food industries/ enterprises, end users, relevant state and central government bodies and NGOs.
A thriving machinery industry needs an ecosystem of its own in the manufacturing and utilisation zones (crop production zones and areas where processing units are set up). However, manufacturing of small millet processing equipment is in its nascent stage and yet to develop as an ecosystem. This is a reflection of low market demand. Small millet processing equipment manufacturing suffers from all the typical problems of a small-scale unregulated industry. Most of them are located in southern India. The equipment is not standardised. There is limited investment on promotion of their products across India. Most of the manufacturers do not have institutional arrangements for long distance sales on a scale and for after sales service. Inadequate competition, poor research input and lack of a system for enforcement of standards sustain this poor state of affairs. The following supports need to be given by the government to develop small millet processing equipment ecosystem:
The equipment manufacturers need to be supported on the following aspects:
Support needed for existing SMPUs
The following supports need to be given for reviving the existing SMPUs:
The new village-level SMPUs can be promoted by the government as an entrepreneurial venture where support can be given as a package involving structured training (such as a short time certificate course involving apprenticeship in processing unit and food enterprises along with classroom sessions), preparation of business plan, start-up funding support, and support for identification, purchase and installation of equipment.
The regional processing enterprises need to be supported on the following aspects:
Already, the primary processing of small millets is inherently challenging due to the size of the grains and variations in the raw materials. The presence of extraneous materials such as mud balls, stones and dust due to threshing in the mud floor and roads complicates it further. To address this issue, government support is needed on the following aspects:
Inclusion of small millets in the mainstream diets could be one of the important ways of addressing malnutrition and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. However, inadequate presence of local/regional processing infrastructure development remains the important limiting factor. Role of the government is critical in promoting decentralised processing infrastructure for small millets. Specific support is needed from the government in an orchestrated manner for (i) Addressing the research gaps in primary processing of small millets, (ii) Supporting establishment of a thriving ecosystem for processing equipment and (iii) Supporting establishment of local/regional processing enterprises of various scales. Concerted efforts in this direction for a considerable period is expected to result in the development of a viable decentralised small millet processing infrastructure in the medium run and establishment of small millets as a nutritious food category in the long run.