Smart Food crops are highly nutritious and targeting some of the largest micro nutrient deficiencies and needs, especially of women and children. Pearl millet has very high levels and bioavailability studies have shown that they will provide the average person’s daily requirement of iron and zinc. Smart Food allows us to have Sustainable Diets ie diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security.

1. ICRISAT and IIMR leading the Smart Food initiative for
millets and sorghum in India:
What is Smart Food
Smart Food is food that fulfills all the criteria of being:
GOOD FOR YOU
GOOD FOR THE PLANET
GOOD FOR THE FARMER
HowaretheyGoodforthePlanet?
Thesearealsocropscriticalinthedrylandsthatwillbest
survivetheharshenvironmentsandaremostresilient
henceclimatesmartcrops.Basically,milletsarethelast
cropstandingintimesofdrought.Themillets,
sorghumandlegumeshaveclosetothelowest
waterandcarbonfootprintsofallthecrops.
HowaretheyGoodforthe
Smallholderfarmer?
SmartFoodaregoodforthesmallholderfarmers
because
▪▪Theirclimateresiliencemeanstheyareagoodrisk
managementstrategy.
▪▪Legumeshaveanimportantcontributiontosoil
nutritionandwhenrotatedwithothercrops,even
increasethewateruseefficiencyoftheentirecrop
rotation.Theirmultipleusesanduntappeddemand
meanstheyhavealotmorepotential.
▪▪Unliketheothercropstheyhavenotyetreached
ayieldplateauandhavegreatpotentialfor
productivityincreases.
SmartFoodallowsustohaveSustainableDietsiediets
withlowenvironmentalimpactswhichcontributeto
foodandnutritionsecurity.
AimsoftheSmartFoodInitiative
TheSmartFoodinitiativeaimstobringSmartFoodinto
mainstreamalongwiththeothermajorstapleswith
theoverallgoalto:
▪▪Createademandpullbytheconsumerwithanew
modernimageforthesetraditionalstaples-market
development
▪▪Buildastrongerscientificcaseformoresupportto
millets
▪▪Highlighttheissuesandpromotethevalueofmillets
andscalingupoftheirutilization
▪▪Highlighttheneedfornewmodernandexciting
productsmadewithmilletsincludingprocessing
technologies&machineryinplace
▪▪Ensuresmallholderfarmersindevelopingcountries
benefitfromthemarketgrowthandcanmoveoutof
povertyandtheirhiddenhungerwiththisapproach
▪▪Addresstheadvocacybygovernmentin
mainstreamingsmartfoodsinpublicfundedwelfare
programs
Thus,toaccelerateandpopularizeinvestmentsand
supportfortheresearchanddevelopmentofvalue
chainsforsmartfoods
Themajorconstraints
Themajorconstraintsforthesedrylandcerealsand
grainlegumesthatareholdingthembackreaching
theirfullpotentialare–thevaluechainsare
significantlyunderdevelopedandtheimageofthe
foodisseenasoldfashioned,especiallythecasefor
milletsandsorghum.
Significantlylessinvestmentandpolicysupport
comparedtoothercropstheyhaveledtountapped
yields,nutritionalmerits,multipleuses(food,feed,
biofuels,brewing),processedproductsandintegration
offarmersintothevaluechain.
HowaretheyGoodforYou?
TheseSmartFoodcropsarehighlynutritious
andtargetingsomeofthelargestmicronutrient
deficienciesandneeds,especiallyofwomenand
children.Examples:
▪▪Iron,zincandfolicacid-Pearlmillethasvery
highlevelsandbioavailabilitystudieshaveshown
thattheywillprovidetheaverageperson’sdaily
requirementofironandzinc.
▪▪Calcium-Fingermillethas3timestheamount
comparedtomilk.
▪▪Affordableprotein-providedbygrain
legumes.
▪▪LowGlycemicIndex-whichmeansescalating
levelsofdiabetes–canbeavoidedormanaged
bysorghumandmilletsbecausetheyhavelow
GlycemicIndex.
▪▪Highantioxidants-Fightsagainstheart
diseases,lifestyledisordersandcancer
▪▪GlutenFree
Smart Food helps solve a number of our biggest issues
in unison: rural poverty, malnutrition and adaptation to
climate change and environmental degradation.
Dryland Cereals like millets and sorghum
and Grain Legumes are Smart Food.
Creating the Smart
Food concept and
messaging
Creating a demand pull with consumers
Health benefit testing where the greatest knowledge gaps are identified
Ensure farmers and rural communities benefit
Smart Food
Scientific
backed
information
Viral campaign to create a buzz around millets through social media, mass media
and reality shows and ambassadors.
Facilitate modern convenience products – through:
▪▪ Developing Smart Food signature products
▪▪ Awareness raising with processors
▪▪ Overcome barriers like knowledge, equipment and grades/standards.
Connecting farmers to the value chain – through:
▪▪ Linking Farmer Producer Organizations to supply processors and other uses
▪▪ Value adding on-farm before selling
▪▪ Developing branded franchised millet products with the women Self Help Groups
Ensuring the millets are eaten to avoid or overcome health issues – through:
▪▪ Working with health workers to introduce millet into the advice.
▪▪ Developing menus to introduce into the Mid Day Meal feeding programs and
implementing with a school campaign
Advocacy for supporting policies – clarify supporting policies needed, supported
documentation, and a traveling roadshow of dynamic science backed presentations
Advocacy for research development – through interactions and awareness raising
and broader promotion with NGOs and funding agencies.
Join the Smart Food Movement
www.SmartFood.org
SmartFood@cgiar.org
Base
marketing
messaging
and material
Classification
and
accreditation
of Smart Food
(and crops)
The world’s biggest R&D organization working only
on millets, with 52 years’ experience on millets R&D
in multidisciplinary areas to revive millets (including
sorghum) consumption and cultivation in the country.
Indian Institute of Millet Research
(an arm of Indian Council of
Agricultural Research)
Feb 2017
GOOD FOR YOU - THE PLANET - THE FARMER
in India
Working in the drylands for 45 years with a
specialty in Dryland Cereals and Grain Legumes.
Providing demand driven innovation to
overcome poverty, hunger, malnutrition and
environmental degradation.

2. ICRISAT and IIMR leading the Smart Food initiative for
millets and sorghum in India:
What is Smart Food?
Smart Food is food that fulfills all the criteria of being:
GOOD FOR YOU
GOOD FOR THE PLANET
GOOD FOR THE FARMER
How are they Good for the Planet?
These are also crops critical in the drylands that will best
survive the harsh environments and are most resilient
hence climate smart crops. Basically, millets are the last
crop standing in times of drought. The millets,
sorghum and legumes have close to the lowest
water and carbon footprints of all the crops.
How are they Good for the
Smallholder farmer?
Smart Food are good for the small holder farmers
because
▪▪ Their climate resilience means they are a good risk
management strategy.
▪▪ Legumes have an important contribution to soil
nutrition and when rotated with other crops, even
increase the water use efficiency of the entire crop
rotation. Their multiple uses and untapped demand
means they have a lot more potential.
▪▪ Unlike the other crops they have not yet reached
a yield plateau and have great potential for
productivity increases.
Smart Food allows us to have Sustainable Diets ie diets
with low environmental impacts which contribute to
food and nutrition security.
Aims of the Smart Food Initiative
The Smart Food initiative aims to bring Smart Food into
mainstream along with the other major staples with
the overall goal to:
▪▪ Create a demand pull by the consumer with a new
modern image for these traditional staples - market
development
▪▪ Build a stronger scientific case for more support to
millets
▪▪ Highlight the issues and promote the value of millets
and scaling up of their utilization
▪▪ Highlight the need for new modern and exciting
products made with millets including processing
technologies & machinery in place
▪▪ Ensure small holder farmers in developing countries
benefit from the market growth and can move out of
poverty and their hidden hunger with this approach
▪▪ Address the advocacy by government in
mainstreaming smart foods in public funded welfare
programs
Thus, to accelerate and popularize investments and
support for the research and development of value
chains for smart foods
The major constraints
The major constraints for these dryland cereals and
grain legumes that are holding them back reaching
their full potential are – the value chains are
significantly under developed and the image of the
food is seen as old fashioned, especially the case for
millets and sorghum.
Significantly less investment and policy support
compared to other crops they have led to untapped
yields, nutritional merits, multiple uses (food, feed,
biofuels, brewing), processed products and integration
of farmers into the value chain.
How are they Good for You?
These Smart Food crops are highly nutritious
and targeting some of the largest micronutrient
deficiencies and needs, especially of women and
children. Examples:
▪▪ Iron, zinc and folic acid - Pearl millet has very
high levels and bioavailability studies have shown
that they will provide the average person’s daily
requirement of iron and zinc.
▪▪ Calcium - Finger millet has 3 times the amount
compared to milk.
▪▪ Affordable protein - provided by grain
legumes.
▪▪ Low Glycemic Index - which means escalating
levels of diabetes – can be avoided or managed
by sorghum and millets because they have low
Glycemic Index.
▪▪ High antioxidants - Fights against heart
diseases, life style disorders and cancer
▪▪ Gluten Free
Smart Food helps solve a number of our biggest issues
in unison: rural poverty, malnutrition and adaptation to
climate change and environmental degradation.
Dryland Cereals like millets and sorghum
and Grain Legumes are Smart Food.
Creating the Smart
Food concept and
messaging
Creating a demand pull with consumers
Health benefit testing where the greatest knowledge gaps are identified
Ensure farmers and rural communities benefit
Smart Food
Scientific
backed
information
Viral campaign to create a buzz around millets through social media, mass media
and reality shows and ambassadors.
Facilitate modern convenience products – through:
▪▪ Developing Smart Food signature products
▪▪ Awareness raising with processors
▪▪ Overcome barriers like knowledge, equipment and grades/standards.
Connecting farmers to the value chain – through:
▪▪ Linking Farmer Producer Organizations to supply processors and other uses
▪▪ Value adding on-farm before selling
▪▪ Developing branded franchised millet products with the women Self Help Groups
Ensuring the millets are eaten to avoid or overcome health issues – through:
▪▪ Working with health workers to introduce millet into the advice.
▪▪ Developing menus to introduce into the Mid Day Meal feeding programs and
implementing with a school campaign
Advocacy for supporting policies – clarify supporting policies needed, supported
documentation, and a traveling roadshow of dynamic science backed presentations
Advocacy for research development – through interactions and awareness raising
and broader promotion with NGOs and funding agencies.
Join the Smart Food Movement
www.SmartFood.org
SmartFood@cgiar.org
Base
marketing
messaging
and material
Classification
and
accreditation
of Smart Food
(and crops)
The world’s biggest R&D organization working only
on millets, with 52 years’ experience on millets R&D
in multidisciplinary areas to revive millets (including
sorghum) consumption and cultivation in the country.
Indian Institute of Millet Research
(an arm of Indian Council of
Agricultural Research)
Feb 2017
GOOD FOR YOU - THE PLANET - THE FARMER
in India
Working in the drylands for 45 years with a
specialty in Dryland Cereals and Grain Legumes.
Providing demand driven innovation to
overcome poverty, hunger, malnutrition and
environmental degradation.