In Punjab, a farmer returns to his roots, turns torchbearer for millets

In the 1950s, around 11 lakh hectares in Punjab were under millet cultivation. This has now come down to around 1,000 hectares. Meanwhile, millets are grown for cattle fodder on around 1.50 lakh hectares.

Singh says he went back to the basics decades ago to grow these traditional grains, making his venture commercially viable with his out-of-the-box thinking. He has been growing millets, the traditional crop of Punjab, on around 7 acres and has also been providing free seeds to farmers across the state to motivate them to grow millets, he adds.

Nine types of millets are grown in India, including major millets bajra (pearl millet), jawar (sorghum) and ragi (finger millet) and small millets kodo or kodra millet, kutki/sama (little millet), kangni (foxtail), chena (proso millet), korale (browntop millet), and jhangora/sawan (barnyard millet). In Punjab, bajra and jowar are mainly grown and they are sown during the Kharif season (April to October).

Singh started growing small millets in 2016 and is the first farmer in Punjab to grow all nine millets, especially kodra. “We need 38 gm fibre dose daily and if one is consuming kodra in any form, one can get 32 gm of required daily fibre from it. Chapati, pulao, idli, dosa, laddu, vermicelli, pasta, burfi, pakora, tikki etc. can be made from millet grain,” he says.

“I visited the Indian Institute of Millets Research in Hyderabad where I learnt about the millets as I used to listen a lot about kodra from my mother but never got the chance to taste it,” he says. “When I went to IIMR, there was no end to my happiness when I saw millets there and decided to grow it in my fields after procuring seed from there,” he adds. Singh now dedicated around 7-8 acres out of a total of 11 acres of his land to millet cultivation.

Singh set up the first millet processing unit in the state. “I also put up a ‘millet Langar’ on the occasion of the 550 birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji in Sultanpur Lodhi in 2019 and distributed free millet seeds to farmers while making three appeals to them: don’t use fertilisers or pesticides on it, use this free seed to grow millets and distribute free seeds further…at least, do not serve pesticide-laced food to your children,” he says.

Talking about yield and its marketing, he says millets can be grown on all types of land, including not-so-fertile land, and the duration lasts from 3 to 5 months, depending on its type. Singh says he does not see any marketing problems either because there is great demand for these in Punjab.

“I am getting 16 quintals kodra yield per acre, 8-9 quintals kangni, and between 6 to 8 quintals per acre of other small millets like kutki and sawan,” he says, adding that farmers need to get used to growing such crops that are good for health, soil, water table, and air.

Divisional Soil Conservation Officer, Jalandhar, Lupinder Kumar said that millets are very beneficial crops for protecting soil health and groundwater and also recommended for human health. “Gurmukh Singh has been doing great work to save Punjab’s water and paving way for diversification,” said Kumar. He said he had recently visited the farm to learn about the cultivation of millets so that they can promote it further among other farmers.

With 2023 being declared the International Year of Millets by the UN, the government, Singh says, can promote millets by giving proper training to farmers and arranging for seeds. It can also open processing units so that valuable products can be made and sold, further adding to farmers’ incomes.

“Our only motto is Guru Nanak Dev’s ‘kheti apnao, mittee, hawa, pani, the sehat banao’ (adopt Guru Nana Dev’s crop pattern and protect your soil, air water and health,” he says, adding that the first Sikh Guru used to grow millets.

Singh has also been practising organic farming for the past several years and grows several other crops like pulses, basmati, wheat and some spices on his farm. He sells these directly to consumers as well as at his outlet located in Batala.