Why Are Tamil Nadu Farmers Abandoning Millets Despite Growing Demand?

Tamil Nadu’s cities may be warming up to millet dosas, millet cookies and millet health mixes, but on the ground, farmers appear to be moving away from the grain.The reason, say agricultural scientists and cultivators, is that rice has guaranteed procurement, maize has industry buyers, but millets still leave most farmers at the mercy of uncertain markets and fluctuating prices.K Mohan, a farmer from the Nilgiris, is one of those who stopped cultivating millet varieties such as ragi and samai more than two decades ago. “We once alternated between potatoes and millets every season on our five acres,” says Mohan. “But we had problems with selling the crop, and so we gradually stopped.” Mohan switched to tea cultivation two decades ago, finding it more profitable.Despite years of govt campaigns promoting traditional grains as climate-resilient and healthy, minor millets occupy barely 1.34 lakh hectares in the state (less than 7%) compared to paddy’s 21.57 lakh hectares, according to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) data for 2024-25.I Packiaraj from Kathalampatti village in Virudhunagar district is one of those still holding on to millet cultivation, growing varieties such as thinai, kuthiraivali, naattu cumbu and red maize across 40 acres managed under a joint family farming model, even as many farmers around him have shifted to crops with more assured buyers and returns.Packiaraj began cultivating millets in 2001, much before it became an urban fad, as it was suited to arid conditions.“Initially, we faced some challenges in marketing our product, but we never incurred any losses,” he says.A major turning point came in 2019, when he got support from TNAU, including seed assistance and technical guidance that improved production.“After 2019, about 80% of our produce is procured by the agriculture department as seeds because it comes from a single land with consistent quality,” says Packiaraj.“There is public interest in traditional foods. But farmers become discouraged because there are not enough processing units or institutional buyers,” says R Ravikesavan, director of the Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics at TNAU. “With guaranteed pricing, market access and institutional support for processing, millet production can double in three years.”Packiaraj says millet cultivation requires lower investment than paddy. “It grows even when rainfall is erratic,” he says. Harvesting an average of 700kg per acre using about 2kg of seeds, he says his family now earns around `6 lakh annually from the 40-acre farm. “Millets survive where many other crops fail. But farmers need confidence that somebody will buy the produce.”Recently, Supreme Court urged the Centre to shift its focus from rice and wheat to promote other grain and highlighted the need for an incentivized minimum support price (MSP) for small-scale farmers to encourage the production of pulses. As agriculture is largely state-administered in practice and given the SC’s advocacy for pulses in the north and other alternatives in the south, scientists say the state govt needs to focus on supporting millets.Minor millets such as samai, thinai, and varagu are currently excluded from the MSP scheme, leaving farmers reliant on fluctuating market prices. Ragi and cumbu, though included in the scheme, lack significant representation in the production map. For millet cultivation in Tamil Nadu to advance beyond minimal levels, policy initiatives need to include the implementation of state-specific MSP.Scientists say maize is proof that assured buyers can transform cultivation patterns. Tamil Nadu’s maize acreage has expanded from 3.5 lakh hectares to 4.5 lakh hectares in recent years, mainly because poultry industries guarantee demand,” says Ravikesavan.“Millets do not yet have that ecosystem,” says Ravikesavan. Millets are primarily grown in rainfed areas. For example, samai was grown on 25,000 hectares, much of it in Tiruvannamalai, involving tribal and local farmers. This has now drastically come down. “When rainfall is favourable, farmers shift to cash crops because millet prices are not profitable.”There is growing public interest in shifting to traditional foods, says Ravikesavan. “We have conducted millet missions twice in the past, during which we promoted high-yielding varieties, making millet cultivation more profitable. However, a significant issue is the lack of processing machinery, which leaves farmers discouraged. Nilgiris, known for the cultivation of samai and ragi two decades ago, has seen no millet cultivation in recent years.”Researchers say Tamil Nadu’s millet cultivation now survives only in pockets.Ragi is cultivated in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri, where ragi muddah is still consumed regularly, while farmers in parts of Villupuram and Cuddalore cultivate varagu.“In more than 10 districts of Tamil Nadu, paddy is not the dominant crop,” says R Gopinath, principal scientist at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). “If the state wants to improve millet cultivation and consumption, these regions should be targeted first.”Gopinath says to enhance millet production, it’s crucial to ensure support from farm to plate. This includes quality seeds, proper agronomic practices, and fair prices for farmers. Maintaining diversity among millet varieties is also important. “Not all millet varieties can grow everywhere. The revival has to be region-specific and backed by proper marketing support and crop insurance,” he says.Experts say the International Year of Millets in 2023 helped increase awareness and local consumption, while value-added products and certified organic varieties have improved price realization in some markets. They add that marketing alone will not revive cultivation unless the state creates a procurement ecosystem comparable to that for rice.“Rice receives guaranteed procurement through the public distribution system, which gives farmers confidence,” says a former agriculture commissioner. “Millets still do not have that kind of support. No farmer wants to grow a crop without knowing who will buy it.”Millet comeback in PudukottaiIn drought-prone Pudukottai, millets have become a survival crop. “From 2008- 2010, drought forced many farmers to migrate because they depended on paddy,” says Akila Bharathi, CEO of Pudukottai Organic Farmers Producers’ Company. Recognizing the need for more resilient crops, the FPO began encouraging cultivation of millets while also guaranteeing procurement at higher-than-market prices.The FPO, which began with 100 members, now has 1,364 farmer shareholders, 78% of them women. Pudukottai has 15 FPOs working with small and marginal farmers in regions that depend on tank irrigation rather than perennial rivers.The FPO produces millet-based bakery goods for TN and nine other states, as well as international markets such as the USA, Germany and Singapore. They source 600 tonnes of raw millet from farmers annually. “Millet procurement has risen by 30% over the past five years,” says Akila.