Fair Prices & Sustainable Crops
Benefits to Farmers
Farmers are vital to our society, as they work very hard to produce crops and/or livestock to feed us for a healthier life. Unfortunately, many farmers around the world are struggling to make a living. This is partially because of global warming; as global average temperatures rise, the amount of dryland increases, which decreases crop yields of rice and wheat, with the result of a negative impact on the livelihoods of farmers growing those crops. In fact, it has been predicted by climate scientists that drylands will expand globally by up to 10% by the end of the 21st century. Drylands cover over 40% of the planet’s land surface, provide 44% of the world’s cultivated systems, and 50% of the world’s livestock, and are home to more than 2 billion people.
By adopting millets as our staple grain instead of rice and wheat, we can enrich the economic lives of hard-working farmers and their families in dryland areas around the world. The reason for this is that millet crops can easily be grown in these areas; according to Dr. Sarala Bangalore, approximately 200-300 litres of water is required to produce 1 kg of millet,
whereas a whopping 8,000-12,000 litres of water is required to produce 1 kg of rice and wheat! In fact, farmers can attain higher yields of millet crops as the temperature increases; therefore, millet crops are not affected by drylands and are not impacted by global warming as much as rice and wheat.
Furthermore, farmers do not have to worry about high investment and maintenance costs to produce millets because millet crops require low inputs; in addition to less water, millets require almost no chemical fertilizers or pesticides and can grow well in less fertile soil and harsh weather. Finally, since millet crops are all season and have a short cultivation cycle of 70 to 90 days, farmers can produce more yield, around 2-3 cycles in a year.
Millets can also improve the economic condition of farmers if the process of de-husking is facilitated. Small farmers who are unable to access large and expensive machinery to process their millet grains are unfortunately forced to sell their unprocessed grains to traders for a low price. However, by adopting the “Buchi Method,” an easier process of de-husking millets at home using a food mixer, innovated by Dr. Khadar Vali, farmers can simply process their millet grains at a low cost and sell them in the market for a higher price. This can also lead to a rise in employment as farmers can hire people to de-husk their millet grains for them.
We believe that strong demand for millets will encourage agricultural researchers to focus on creating higher quality seeds which can produce higher yield from millet crops. This will motivate farmers to focus more on millet production as opposed to rice or wheat production, benefiting themselves, their families, and the environment.