Analyzing the Reasons Behind the Decline of Millet Farming in India With a Focus on Change in Policy, and the Way Forward

Abstract

Millet production in India has been rapidly declining in the past 50 years, yet the importance of millets must not be forgotten. Recently, there has been an increase in efforts by the Indian government to boost the production of millets, concentrated on raising awareness about the benefits of millets to the general populace. This paper, firstly discusses the importance of millets against the backdrop of climate change, finding it to have moderate nutritionally benefits and immense environmental benefits. Secondly, the paper finds three key reasons for the historic decline of millet production : The Green Revolution, Government Policies - specifically the MSP policy and lastly demand related factors. Thirdly, this paper analyzes the efficacy of current government initiatives to promote millets on three criteria - Awareness, Production and Yield, finding the policies to be successful in raising awareness, unsuccessful in raising production and results inconclusive in raising yield. Lastly, this paper uses statistical data to analyze the impact of various factors on the yield of millets, finding Net Irrigated Area to have a strong, positive correlation with yield. Policy recommendations such as conducting a large scale survey with farmers are also given.