Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness (MIIRA)

India proposed a draft global initiative to boost the production and consumption of millet called Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness – MIIRA. The move also converges with the United Nations designating 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’. 

This is an important topic for the IAS exam economy segment. It is also relevant for the current affairs section of IAS Prelims.

What is MIIRA?

The MIIRA initiative aims to coordinate research on millets at the global level.

• The initiative is part of India’s efforts to get the world to observe 2023 as the International Year of Millets, as declared by the UN. 
• MIIRA aims to raise awareness of the importance of the production and consumption of millets on a global level through conferences and creating connections with millet research organizations around the world.
• The government is also planning to make India a global hub for millet.
• The MIIRA initiative is considered significant as food security and nutrition are the key areas of interest in the agriculture sector during India’s presidency in G20.
• The secretariat of MIIRA will be in Delhi and India will provide seed money. Later G20 members can contribute to its budget through membership fees.
• India as one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of millets will ensure the flow of investments from industries and research bodies.

About Millets

• Millets are a group of cereal grains belonging to the Poaceae family, sometimes referred to as the grass family.
• Millets were among the earliest plants to be domesticated; they have been a traditional food source for hundreds of millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia for more than 7,000 years, and they are today grown all over the world.
• The most popular millet variety is pearl millet, an important crop in Africa and India.
  • Other significant crop species include finger millet, proso millet, and foxtail millet.
• India is the world’s leading producer of millet.
• In 2018, the Agriculture Ministry declared certain millets as ‘Nutri Cereals’ for their “high nutritive value”.
• The FAO says millets are “an ideal solution for countries to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported cereal grains” as they can grow on arid lands with minimal inputs and are resilient to changes in climate.
• The cultivation of millets is also considered climate-friendly as they consume less water than traditional crops like rice and emit low greenhouse gas.

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