Editorial: Advances in millet research as a sustainable food source

Editorial on the Research Topic
Advances in millet research as a sustainable food source

With the declaration of International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 by the United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session in March 2021, an opportunity has opened to raise awareness of, and direct policy attention to the nutritional and health benefits of millets and their suitability for cultivation under adverse and changing climatic conditions. In addition to providing an encouraging signal toward incentivizing millet cultivation, the declaration can also encourage the creation of an enabling post-harvest environment for producers and consumers. According to the recent IYM Communication Handbook and Toolkit (released in December 2022), the year aims to contribute to various UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 (Responsible consumption and production). This paves the way for these climate-smart crops to enter as a mainstream food source, thereby contributing to food as well as nutrition security. This Research Topic encompasses understanding the agricultural practices as well as the recent sustainable processing technology trends including individual technologies, value-added products, nutritional changes involved, and finally the utilization of by-products obtained during pre-and post-harvest processing of millets.

Habiyaremye et al. demonstrated the potential of quinoa and millet to grow well in a variety of agroecological zones in Rwanda, ranging from highland to lowlands. However, results indicated that the yield was favored in Musanze-like environments as compared to Kirehe-like environments, for both quinoa and millet. This highlighted the need for identifying millet and quinoa genotypes with specific adaptation to diverse agroecological zones and growing seasons in Rwanda. The authors also stated the need for further interventions on for establishing of quinoa and millet breeding programs in Rwanda, so as to effectively optimize seed yield in target environments across the country.

García-Parra et al. evaluated the physicochemical and rheological responses of different quinoa cultivars under different environments. The agro-industrial potential of the quinoa cultivars was assessed with respect to their production zones, thereby stating high compositional variability. The authors revealed a significant variance in the protein and starch composition, protein secondary structure, and starch structural conformation, with a varying altitudinal gradient. Similarly, environment-cultivar interaction also significantly affected the viscosity, breakdown, and dispersion setback.

Abeysekera et al. evaluated a range of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-lipidemic properties, along with proximate composition, for a different millet types and sorghum varieties cultivated in Sri Lanka. The results indicated that the pigmented varieties comprised of higher biological activities as compared to the non-pigmented varieties. However, the nutritional composition did not vary significantly with the color of the grains. Thus, according to the authors, value-added functional food and nutraceutical from pigmented millet and sorghum varieties can promote prevention and management of non-communicable diseases and their related complications, while improved nutrition can be achieved by just introducing diverse millet and sorghum varieties in daily diets.

Singh et al. reviewed the potential of browntop millet (BTM) as a food source by addressing the following research questions- origin and yield of BTM; physiochemical, nutritional and sensory properties of BTM; comparison of BTM nutritional properties to other major and minor millets available in India; food and non-food uses of BTM; health benefits of BTM; and future scope of research work on BTM. The authors revealed lack of scientific evidence on the nutritional profile and safety aspects of BTM grains, thereby making it a non-preferable crop for research by researchers and also for its use in government/non-government supplementary food programmes and the public distribution system. The authors also mentioned the challenges of availability, accessibility and affordability of BTM grains, hindering its incorporation in daily diets. Further, it was suggested that active participation of policy makers, academia and farmers can help unleash the unrealized potential of this grain. As part of the International Year of Millets 2023, the government of India is promoting popularization of millets through series of lectures/talks, competitions, millet bazaars (local markets), provision of millet-based snacks/meals in canteens/cafeterias and research for students, faculty and staff in academic institutions. The authors emphasized the importance of similar awareness generation initiatives/campaigns that may prove to be beneficial in promoting consumption of millets including BTM by the masses at large.

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