Millet: From Ancient Grain to Staple Crop for Future Food Systems

While millets were amongst the world’s first cultivated crops, production and consumption decreased during the 20th century, especially since the Green Revolution (1960s-1980s), when high-yielding grains such as wheat and rice began to dominate food systems. However, growing awareness of millets’ nutritional benefits and potentially low environmental impacts have increased interest in these grains across the world (reflected by the United Nations’ ‘International Year of Millets’ in 2023), leading to an increase in production and consumption. So, how can millets accelerate global climate change action and food security?