The big promise of the little millet, in Odisha and beyond

Nuapada district in western Odisha is home to several tribal communities, including the Gond, Paharia, Kondh, and the Chuktia Bhunjia—one of India’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). For generations, these communities have sustained their food systems through rain-fed agriculture, cultivating native varieties of millets, paddy, pulses, and vegetables using mixed and rotational cropping methods. Among these crops, little millet (Panicum sumatrense), locally known as ‘gurji’, has been a major staple. It grows well in less fertile soils under rain-fed conditions, and can withstand drought, prolonged dry spells, and even waterlogging, making it an exceptionally resilient crop suited to diverse and challenging environments.

Tribal communities in Nuapada have traditionally cultivated several native varieties of little millet, including bad gurji, jhar gurji, jhati gurji, jhumki gurji, and san gurji. Each variety is distinct, differing in crop duration, grain size, colour, and taste. Among them, jhati gurji is the most preferred. It is a short-duration crop, typically harvested within 70 days. Known for its arched panicles and small, shiny grey grains, jhati gurji is valued both for its agronomic advantages and cultural significance.

“Jhati gurji is sown early in June and harvested before paddy, by early August. It’s the first crop of the season. We harvest jhati gurji when no other standing crop is available—it’s like our survival food,” says Rama Majhi, a 42-year-old farmer from the Dholamunda village in Nuapada. The harvest period of jhati gurji coincides with Nuakhai, a popular harvest festival celebrated across West Odisha. Majhi adds, “If we harvest around 2–3 quintals of jhati gurji, we store one quintal for household consumption and sell the rest.”

Since there is no Minimum Support Price (MSP) for little millet in Odisha, many farmers are shifting to other crops like paddy and maize.

Jhati gurji holds deep cultural significance among tribal communities. “Our Nuakhai celebration is incomplete without jhati gurji,” says 37-year-old Padma Jhankar from Jamgarh village in Komna. When freshly harvested, it has a milky flavour, while grains stored for over six months develop a taste similar to fish eggs. During Nuakhai, it is prepared in a variety of traditional recipes, including rice, gruel, puffed rice, and sweets, she says. Its importance is also reflected in local oral traditions, with jhati gurji frequently mentioned in tribal songs as a testament to its integral role in cultural heritage (one such song can be found at the end of this article!). “Despite its rich heritage, jhati gurji is under threat due to the spread of hybrid crops and the growing practice of monocropping,” says Pritesh Sundar Roy, programme officer of seed systems at the Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN), Bhubaneswar. It is an NGO that works with the rain-fed farmers in Odisha.

Under the Shree Anna Abhiyan, a flagship initiative by the Odisha government launched in 2017 to revive millets in the state, WASSAN has undertaken the scientific documentation of the history, cultural significance, and unique agronomic traits of jhati gurji to secure a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Since there is no Minimum Support Price (MSP) for little millet in Odisha, many farmers are shifting to other crops like paddy and maize. “The lack of proper documentation and research on heirloom varieties further threatens their survival,” explains Roy.

Kuber Pradhan, a farmer who has been cultivating jhati gurji for over 15 years and serves as a community resource person with the Maa Suradei Farmer Producer Organisation in Komna block, is proud to support the GI tag application process. “A GI tag will validate the crop’s authenticity, promote tribal cultural heritage, and boost the market value of jhati gurji,” he says.

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A heritage grain

“Little millet has a long-standing history in Odisha and is an integral part of the state’s cultural heritage,” says Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha. He highlighted that western Odisha—encompassing the hilly regions of the Eastern Ghats and the Chota Nagpur Plateau—is believed to be one of the earliest centres of little millet domestication in the world, dating back to around 4000 BC.

The grain was domesticated in the Eastern Ghats of India and spread to Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Myanmar. Evidence of little millet cultivation was found in the Indus Valley Civilisation of Harappa around 2600 BC. Millets, therefore, were a staple in the diet of one of the world’s earliest urban civilisations. In the excavations of Oriyo Timbo in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, 77% of the seeds were found to be of millets, including little millet, dating to 2000-1500 BC. Similarly, evidence of little millet was also found at the Hallur archaeological site, located in the Haveri district of Karnataka, dating back to approximately 1800 BC. This place is also known as South India’s earliest Iron Age site.

A climate-resilient crop

Little millet thrives in both tropical and temperate climates and can be cultivated at altitudes of up to 2,000 metres above sea level in India. It requires moderate rainfall, growing well in regions that receive between 250 and 600 mm annually, and can also adapt to areas receiving rainfall as high as 1,500 mm. Additionally, little millet can tolerate moderate levels of soil salinity and alkalinity.

Several studies have highlighted the strong climate resilience of little millet. For example, under drought conditions, the crop exhibits increased root length and reduced shoot length—an adaptive trait that enhances its ability to access water and survive dry spells.

Also read: For Odisha’s Chuktia Bhunjias, preservation by drying is tradition—and sustenance

The big player states

Little millet is known by various names across India—sama in Bengali, suan in Odia, kutki in Hindi, gajro in Gujarati and Kannada, sava in Marathi, swank in Punjabi, samai in Tamil, and samalu in Telugu. The states majorly producing little millet include Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. Though more recent data about the grain remains scant, the total area under cultivation as of 2015-16 was 2.34 lakh ha with production of 1.27 lakh tonnes.

In Odisha, little millet is primarily grown in the hilly areas of tribal-populated districts, such as Koraput, Malkangiri, Nuapada, Rayagada, Kalahandi, and Kandhamal. In 2023, the Odisha government announced plans to launch a benchmark price for little millet and other millets outside the ambit of MSP, terming the price as being “the equivalent of MSP”. Two years since, the fate of the little millet has not changed. Despite the government promoting millets as climate-smart and nutritious crops, most varieties—besides ragi, sorghum and pearl millet—are still not included in the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

In both Mandla and Dindori districts, little millet has been included in the meals served to preschool children at Anganwadi centres, as part of the state’s initiative to promote millets for improved nutrition.

Chhattisgarh is the only state that offers MSP for little millet. The Chhattisgarh Millet Mission—launched by the Government of Chhattisgarh in September 2021, with the vision of making the state the millet hub of India—is an initiative that primarily focuses on promoting the cultivation of kodo millet, little millet, and finger millet across 85 blocks in 20 districts of the state,  with a budget outlay of ₹170 crore from 2021 to 2026. In 2021, the state declared ₹33.77 per kilogram of little millet as MSP. 

In Madhya Pradesh, little millet is predominantly cultivated by the Gond and Baiga tribes across several districts, including Dindori, Mandla, Umaria, Chhindwara, Anuppur, Shahdol, and Sidhi. Among these, Mandla has emerged as a major production hub for both kutki and kodo millet. The district has also been designated as the ‘One District One Product’ for millets under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises scheme of the Government of India. In both Mandla and Dindori districts, little millet has been included in the meals served to preschool children at Anganwadi centres, as part of the state’s initiative to promote millets for improved nutrition.

In northern India, the grain is commonly consumed as ‘vrat ka chawal’—or food consumed when observing a fast. It is known to sustain energy and reduce hunger over time, as it releases glucose gradually. In Odisha, little millet is often referred to as a “cooling grain” because of its ability to regulate body temperature and help prevent heat-related illnesses during the hot summer months.

Small size, big health benefits

Tiny and round in shape, little millet is one of the smallest grains among the different millet varieties, but it packs a powerful nutritional punch. According to the Indian Institute of Millet Research, 100 grams of little millet contain 7.7 grams of protein, 7.6 grams of dietary fibre, 1.5 grams of minerals, 9.3 mg of iron, and 17 mg of calcium.

Little millet is rich in antioxidants such as tannins and flavonoids, which help protect against lifestyle-related diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. It has a low glycemic index and is high in dietary fibre, which means it releases glucose slowly into the bloodstream, helping maintain stable blood sugar levels. The grain also contains phytochemicals known for their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. It is a good source of magnesium, which supports heart health, and niacin (Vitamin B3), which helps lower cholesterol levels. Its phosphorus content aids in tissue repair, energy production, and weight management, particularly after physical exertion.

“Little millet helps detoxify the body,” says Dr. Srikanta Dhar, a medicine specialist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar. Its high water-soluble fibre content promotes satiety, delays gastric emptying, and supports weight loss. Naturally gluten-free, it is also an ideal grain for people with celiac disease or those seeking gluten-free alternatives.

Also read: One Odisha woman’s mission to preserve taste, tradition through seeds 

Policy concerns 

The little millet has been “a neglected crop despite its climate resilience, nutritional value, and genetic diversity,” says Uday Kumar Nagubandi, Program Manager, Sustainable Seed Systems at the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, a Hyderabad-based NGO working in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, and Punjab towards establishing economically and ecologically sustainable agriculture. From the 1980s to 2020, over 150 varieties of little millet—distinct seed samples representing specific cultivars—have been documented by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR). However, much of this diversity has gradually disappeared from the agricultural landscape, especially over the last two decades, according to Nagubandi, owing to shifting cropping patterns, market preferences, and policy support favouring rice and wheat. Traditional varieties of millets disappeared from farmers’ fields, especially in central and eastern India, due to a lack of incentives and seed system support.

Processing of little millet is also challenging. The grain has an outer husk that needs to be removed, making it a tedious post-harvesting process.

“We need to recognise little millet as a Neglected and Underutilised Crop Species (NUS) and bring it under the ambit of programmes like the All India Coordinated Research Project,” Nagubandi suggests. The All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRP) are flagship initiatives of ICAR, launched in the 1960s, to conduct multi-location, multidisciplinary research on specific crops and agricultural challenges. Each AICRP focuses on a crop (like rice, wheat, maize, millets) or theme (like dryland farming, agroforestry), and operates through a network of research centres across agro-climatic zones. In the past, AICRP has significantly contributed to the development of 4,365 varieties of field crops. “There is also a need for region-specific research, farmer-led seed conservation efforts, MSP provisions, and integration into agroforestry systems to bring little millet back into mainstream farming,” Nagubandi adds.

“Crop diversity is key,” emphasises Naresh Biswas, founder of Nirman, an NGO working with the Baiga tribe on ecological farming through the revival of indigenous seeds in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. Instead of monocropping, little millet should be grown as part of intercropping systems along with other millets, pulses, and cereals—a sustainable practice followed by tribal communities for generations, he emphasises. Nirman has promoted the same in Mandla.

Processing of little millet is also challenging. The grain has an outer husk that needs to be removed, making it a tedious post-harvesting process. “Since the grain size is small, isolating little millet from stones, pebbles, and other dust particles is a labour-intensive task for women. Traditionally, they spend hours segregating grain through winnowing in a bamboo tray,” says Biranchi Narayan Mahaptra, Executive Secretary, CPSW, an NGO promoting millets with the support of Shree Anna Abhiyan in Nuapada and Komna blocks. There is an urgent need to develop efficient processing machinery for little millet that is women-friendly, he highlights.

While millets are widely promoted as climate-resilient crops, farmers are increasingly reporting reduced yields in the face of changing climatic conditions. “Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns are affecting millet productivity,” says Jitendra Kumar Kar, Senior Programme Officer at WASSAN, Bhubaneswar. He emphasises the need for focused, participatory research to understand the impacts of climate change on millets. “Such studies must engage tribal farmers, local civil society organisations, and academic institutions,” says Kar, who coordinates the Coalition for Food Systems Transformation in India (CoFTI), a multi-stakeholder panel advocating for indigenous and tribal food cultures, forest knowledge, and agroecology.

An example of a traditional local tribal song on jhati gurji from Odisha’s Nuapada district:

Kisan bhai ho (Oh brother farmers)

Jhati gurji karmu chash (Let us cultivate jhati gurji)

Jhati gurji karmu chash (Let us cultivate jhati gurji)

Khaimu boli karichu aash (We are hoping to eat it)

Khaimu boli karichu aash. (We are hoping to eat it)

Gurji bhitre, gurji bhitre (Among the little millet, among the little millet)

Jhati gurji sabuthanu far (Jhati gurji is the best)

Jhati gurji sabuthanu far (Jhati gurji is the best)

Kisan bhai ho (Oh brother farmers)

Jhati gurji karmu chash (We will cultivate jhati gurji)

Jhati gurji karmu chash. (We will cultivate jhati gurji)

Amar pitrupita khaichan jhati gurji (Our forefathers have eaten jhati gurji)

Amar pitrupita khaichan jhati gurji (Our forefathers have eaten jhati gurji)

Ame bisa khaimu jhati gurji (We will also eat jhati gurji)

Ame bisa khaimu jhati gurji. (We will also eat jhati gurji)

Kisan bhai ho (Oh brother farmers)

Jhati gurji karmu chash (We will cultivate jhati gurji)

Jhati gurji karmu chash. (We will cultivate jhati gurji)

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Also read: In rural Odisha, the Juang community’s seeds are gifts from ancestors

Images by Abhijit Mohanty

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