Latest update May 25th, 2026 12:35 AM
MILLET SET TO PLAY IMPORTANT ROLE IN GUYANA’S AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
CONSUMER CONCERNS…
BY: PAT DIAL
Kaieteur News – This year, 2023, has been designated International Year of Millet (IYOM) by the United Nations, with intent of bringing to the attention of Governments and Ministries of Agriculture worldwide, the value of a crop that could help to counter the food shortage, that is affecting many parts of the world.
Millets are among the first food plants to be domesticated by humans and are still a traditional staple food crop in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Though it is grown in many countries, India is the top producer of Millet, followed by Nigeria, Niger and China.
Millets, like many cereals, is a grass and encompasses a diverse group of small grained, dryland cereals. They can survive in harsh growing conditions with poor soils, are adaptable, as well as, climate resilient. These characteristics would allow for semi-desertification lands to produce more food with millet cultivation and for those countries which are better endowed by nature to even achieve food surplus.
Millet used to be much more consumed worldwide than it is today. But, with the shifting food preferences to cereals like wheat and rice, the demand for millet and its production fell. With the current food shortages worldwide and also the desire of many developing countries to create more opportunities for small scale farmers, Millet is beginning to recover lost ground. Guyana is an example of a country which is developing its Millet cultivation with the intention of supplying the local market and later exporting.
Millet provides a very healthy diet. It is gluten free and rich in minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. It also contains dietary fibres and vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin B6, carotene and niacin.
Millet could be ground into flour or used in other ways. That it is being used in so many different cultural regions result in it being cooked and prepared in many different ways and the repertoire of its recipes could satisfy any taste.
Guyana, now a notable oil and gas producer, bringing in large revenues, is determined not to be caught in the syndrome of the “Dutch Disease” or “Resource Curse” and is diversifying its economic base, with the use of part of the oil revenues. One very important area of diversification is agriculture. Traditionally, Guyanese agriculture revolved around the production of rice, sugar, ground provisions and fruit. This traditional base is being developed while new expansions are taking place in livestock, dairy, fishing, and the introduction of new crops. Among these new crops is Millet.
Production of Millet is an attractive option for small farmers who will have increasing employment. It will in time be partly an imported wheat substitute, would enrichen the diet of the population and surplus production could find a niche market in the very large Indian diaspora. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Carnegie School of Home Economics should begin to explore the Millet recipes from various parts of the world and promote the use of the cereal.
Guyana has secured the help and partnership of India which will provide a team of experts to develop a number of Millet farms. India will provide technical assistance and training and will help Guyana to promote the grain in the Caribbean and South America. Haiti with its exhausted soils could be a beneficiary from Guyana’s aid in this regard.
Millet production is about to take off and all are confident of its success.
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