1. From Celebration to Consolidation

The UN-declared International Year of Millets (IYM 2023) successfully put millets back on the global map. But in 2025, the real challenge — and opportunity — lies in sustaining the momentum and ensuring that millets remain an integral part of agriculture, markets, and consumer diets.

India, as the world’s largest producer of millets, continues to build on the policy push, infrastructure development, and awareness that began in 2023.

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2. Sustained Policy Support: The Backbone of Growth

Since 2023, the Indian government has:

• Continued higher MSPs for key millet crops like bajra, jowar, and ragi.
• Expanded millet-based meals in Anganwadi’s, schools (midday meals), and ICDS schemes.
• Supported millet startups and FPOs under schemes like PMFME and Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF).
• Promoted millet exports, with India’s millet shipments seeing increased traction in Middle Eastern and Western markets.

These efforts are making millet cultivation not just viable, but profitable.

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3. Processing and Value Addition: The Game-Changer

The biggest shift in 2025 is the rapid expansion of millet processing units:

• Millet-based snacks, cereals, instant mixes, and bakery products are now mainstream in urban retail.
• Rural entrepreneurs and SHGs have entered millet value chains with government and CSR support.
• Investment in millet clusters and incubation centres is reducing post-harvest losses and creating rural jobs.

This ecosystem is enabling farmers to move from raw produce to higher margin processed products.

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4. Empowering Marginal Farmers and Women

Millets are mostly grown in rainfed, tribal, and hilly areas. In 2025, this crop continues to empower:

• Small and marginal farmers who depend on hardy, low-input crops.
• Women-led SHGs, especially in states like Odisha, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh, who are running millet cafés, canteens, and processing units.
• Youth Agri entrepreneurs, building D2C millet brands and supply chains.

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5. Millets and Climate Resilience in 2025

With increasing climatic shocks in Indian agriculture, millets are being actively promoted for:

• Low water consumption and resistance to pests.
• Short growth cycles, reducing exposure to extreme weather.
• Support from climate-smart agriculture programs under the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).

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Conclusion: A Movement, not a Moment

The International Year of Millets may have concluded, but the Millet Mission in India has only just begun. In 2025, millets are not just crops — they are symbols of resilience, rural prosperity, and nutritional security. The challenge ahead lies in ensuring that this resurgence is institutionalized — through markets, policies, and public-private partnerships — so that millets truly go from margins to mainstream.