Meet this Maharashtra tribal farmer conserving and popularising millets

Jahagirdarwadi is the base camp of the Kalsubai peak – the highest mountain peak in Maharashtra. Trekkers and tourists from Mumbai and Pune throng this village of around 400, mainly Mahadev Koli, tribal families, over the weekends, especially during and post monsoons. Besides acting as guides, these families also run tourist homestay facilities. Rice grown over reclaimed patches of land in the rocky region is the main crop, while millet, the traditional crop, is grown mainly for sustenance.

Ghode’s introduction to millets happened quite accidentally when he took up farming at the age of 14. Back then, millets had almost vanished from the village, with paddy taking up its place. “During the monsoon, it was my father’s routine to feed our draught animals finger millets (popularly known as Nanchni) to help them navigate the tough terrains. Also, the farm labourers consumed this as their staple to help them work in the torrential rains and sludge,” he said. Finger millets, Ghode said, kept both the animals and the labourers healthy, leading him to research this millet.

Other than finger millets, little millet (known as Varai) are the staples of this tribal village and naturally, Ghode turned his attention towards them. But the main problem he faced was the need for seeds and the technology to grow them.

By then, just a handful of farmers in the village had the seeds, which propelled him to take up conservation work. Unlike other tourist guides in his village, Ghode decided to serve his guests millets instead of wheat roti to introduce the urban crowd to what is now known as Shri Anna. Millets as a crop, Ghode said, is much sturdier than, say, high-bred high-yielding paddy.

“Thus, as a welcome drink, we served ambil – a liquid concoction of finger millet, and for desserts, we served kheer of barnyard millet or little millet. My tourists loved it and invariably, and while returning home, made it a point to buy some for their homes. Word of mouth is the best publicity, and over the last many years, I have seen demand for millets increase,” he said.

Thanks to his efforts, around 30 per cent of the farmers in the village now dedicate a portion of their holding to growing millets.

The presence of Kalsubai and the steady inflow of tourists gave Ghode a readymade market, so he turned his attention towards the input side. In his search for millets, he travelled extensively to discover many of the once popular millet varieties now on the verge of extinction.

The south Indian states, he felt, have done a better job in the conservation of millets with mechanisation and value addition. It was from Tamil Nadu that he got the first flouring mill to convert little millet, which is the only one in the district to date.

Ghode’s house, which serves as the community seed bank project of the Pune-based BAIF Development Research Foundation, now has an enviable variety of millets. His efforts alone have helped him to collect 20 different varieties of finger millets, ten different types of little millets, three different types of fox tail millets and one each of brown top, barnyard and Kodu millet.

In the case of pearl millet and sorghum, he has native varieties, which now have become rare. “On my five acres of leased land, I have carried out experiments and have shown how on average, some millets can give yields as high as 20 quintals per acre. Most of the cultivation is done using organic inputs, so the cost of production is less,” he said.

Thanks to his knowledge and expertise, Ghode has acted as a resource person in many exhibitions as well as the ICAR’s Millets Research Institute in Hyderabad.

The state agriculture department has been quick to recognise Ghode’s initiatives, and he is being termed as a champion farmer whose example is cited to other farmers.

Sudhakar Balasaheb Borale, sub-divisional agricultural officer, Sangamner, Ahmednagar, said they are in touch with Ghode and are working towards developing a value chain for millets.

“The agriculture department, with the convergence of schemes such as State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART), Prime Minister’s Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) and the Chief Minister’s Agriculture and Food Processing Scheme, is planning to develop the entire millet value chain by handholding of these farmer-producer organisations (FPO). From a backward linkage point of view, we are conducting crop demonstrations by supplying subsidised inputs and from a forward linkage perspective, we are currently conducting “millets Mohostav” and “Ranbhaji mohostav” so as promote mainstreaming of edible wild vegetables alongside various millet crops,” he said.

In the Year of Millets, a pleasantly amused Ghode points out that the biggest hurdle for farmers would be the absence of a proper end-to-end value chain for their crops. Had it not been for the tourist inflow, Ghode’s millets might not have got the demand they are witnessing now. “We now want to pack and brand our basic products – It will help not only us but also help the customer get used to millets in the easiest form available,” he said.