The United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session in March 2021 declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023).
Millets encompass a diverse group of cereals including pearl, proso, foxtail, barnyard, little, kodo, browntop, finger and Guinea millets, as well as fonio, sorghum (or great millet), and teff. They are an important source of nourishment for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. They are also deeply rooted in Indigenous Peoples’ culture and traditions, and help guarantee food security in areas where they are culturally relevant.
Millets can play an important role and contribute to our collective efforts to empower smallholder farmers, achieve sustainable development, eliminate hunger, adapt to climate change, promote biodiversity, and transform agrifood systems.
As the global agrifood systems face challenges to feed an ever-growing global population, resilient cereals such as millets provide an affordable and nutritious option, and efforts need to be scaled-up to promote their cultivation.
Efforts need to be made to raise awareness of, and share knowledge on millet consumption, health benefits, research on food processing and new product development, policy attention on the nutritional and health benefits of millet consumption, and the suitability of millets for cultivation under adverse and changing climatic conditions.
On 4th February 2023, the International conference
“Millets: Superfood of the Century – Challenges and Opportunities” promotes the agenda of IYM 2023 and will contribute to strengthening the link between science, research, and innovation, and will provide solutions to support food and environmental security. The conference will welcome both research and review papers on the following topics (but not limited to):
• millet diversity, distribution, and traditional importance;
• food processing of millets;
• methods of millet breeding and cultivation, along with new varieties of millets;
• new product development from millets;
• nutraceutical potential of millets;
• dietary and health benefits of millets;
• millets resilience in adapting to climate change;
• post-harvest processing of millets;
• sustainable production of millets;
• sustainable market opportunities for millet producers and consumers
