Millets: From Ancient Grains to Modern Super Crops - A Comprehensive Review on Their Resurgence and Role in Combating Global Challenges

This review explores the multifaceted role and resurgence of millets as “super crops” in addressing the sustainability advantages to contemporary challenges to combat global hunger, malnutrition, and the address the adverse impacts of climate change beyond their nutritional and agronomic benefits. These forgotten and ancient grains originally cultivated in Asia and Africa has nourished civilizations for millennia, are experiencing a renaissance in the modern world. In India, the green revolution eliminated food diversity and decline in popularity of millets in our farms and plates due to recent shifts in dietary preferences and agricultural practices. Millets have lost their global importance, overshadowed by rice, wheat, and maize, which together account for 89% of the world’s grain production. Efforts to revive millet production and consumption are gaining globe momentum, driven by initiatives taken by the FAO of UN at the behest of the Government of India to declare 2023 as the “Year of the Millets”. Millets are emerging as a preferred choices and sustainable champions due their exceptional nutritional profiles for enhanced nutrition to address the lifestyle-related health concerns, resilience to adverse diverse climatic conditions, and minimal resource requirements, making them well-suited for cultivation in resource-constrained regions. These forgotten ancient grains are the sustainable choice for a planet in need of resilient agricultural practices to improve soil health, pest and diseases resistant that thrive even in arid, semi-arid, and marginal lands compared to other major cereal crops. Millets have redefined the concept of a healthy dietary alternative by offering a spectrum of vital nutrients, gluten-free properties, and a low glycemic index. Therefore these resilient crops not only provide a source of nutrition for millions but also hold the potential to combat global challenges by offering sustainable solutions for agriculture and food production. This review underlines the significance and positive environmental footprint of millets in mitigating the climate change and their adaptability to diverse climatic conditions. As the world seeks sustainable agricultural solutions, millets provide an inspiring model of how traditional wisdom and modern technology can come together to address global challenges and ensure a prosperous future for both farmers and the planet. Addressing the challenges and barriers to millet resurgence requires a multi-faceted approach that involves education, policy changes, research, and investment.