This document summarizes a study on sustaining small millet cropping systems through farmer-led participatory research in India. The study found that: 1) Small millets are nutritious but production has declined due to low productivity and lack of improved varieties and harvesting/processing methods. 2) Participatory research identified context-specific solutions like improved agronomic practices, tools, and harvesters/threshers/dehullers to address constraints. 3) On-farm trials showed yield increases of up to 28% from improved practices like line sowing and organic fertilizers. Efficient harvesters and dehullers also helped reduce labor. 4) The participatory approach helped prioritize constraints

1. SUSTAINING THE SMALL MILLET CROPPING SYSTEMS
THROUGH CONTEXT SPECIFIC FARMER-LED
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH IN INDIA
KARTHIKEYAN,M1,PALANISAMY,M.2,PATIL,C.S.P3,SEETHARAM,A4,MANISH,BIJAY,K.N.5,
VEDIAPPAN,V.5&NADHIYA,M.5
Presented at the International Food Security Dialogue 2014
“Enhancing Food Production, Gender Equity and Nutritional
Security in a Changing World.”
Sponsored By: Hosted By:

2. Topics covered in this presentation
•Need for this study
•Methodology
•Results and Discussion
•Conclusion
•Way forward

3. Need for this study….
• Malnutrition issues are widely prevalent across South
Asia
• Among the children under the age of five years in
India, 48% have stunted growth, 43% are
underweight and 19.8% are wasted. In Nepal also
49% of children under 5 years have stunted growth
and 39% have underweight. In Sri Lanka, 22% of
married women in the reproductive age group are
malnourished.
• Research and epidemiological evidence link the
decline in dietary diversity to these health issues
• Small millets are one of the important food groups that
had been moved out of the food basket in recent time

4. Need for the study
Small millets (SMs- Little millet, Finger
milllet, Kodo millet, Barnyard millet, Proso millet &
Foxtail millet) are known for their superior
nutritional qualities in terms of higher
micronutrients and dietary fibre and lower
glycemic index
Also known for
• Ability to grow under harsh environments
• Nutritious intercrops and uncultivated edible greens
Ability to meet food, income and fodder security

5. Need for this study
Despites these advantages India witnessed a 76%
decrease in total production (except FM) and a
steep fall in consumption between 1961 and 2009
Consumption has also consequently declined
Given the high potential of SMs to contribute to the
nutritional security under the prevailing conditions
of high levels of undernutrition issues, it is
important to sustain these cropping systems

6. Need for this study
Reasons for decline in production
• Low productivity
• Site specific varieties were not developed
• Drudgery in harvesting, threshing and more particularly
in dehulling
Addressing these production constraints can help in
sustaining the SMCS
With this objective on-farm research is being attempted
since 2011 in India under an action research project -
'Revalorising Small millets in Rainfed Regions of South Asia
(RESMISA)'

7. RESMISA Project Locations

8. Methodology
Context specific, Farmer-led and Gender sensitive methods
were followed which builds on the indigenous knowledge
of the farmers and scientific knowledge of the researchers
Why participatory method was followed?
• Diverse nature of the working sites which demand context
specific solutions
• To build on the indigenous knowledge

9. Conceptual framework

10. Focus of participatory research for SMCS
Three focus areas
1) PVS
2) Improved agronomic practices and tools
3) Developing/ improvising suitable harvester,
thresher and dehuller

11. Training to farmers on line sowing-
Peraiyur

12. Line sowing in Jawadhu Hills

13. Guli method (SCI) of Finger millet
cultivation- Anchetty

14. Results of on-farm production trials in project sites
• Anchetty: Yield increase of 20-27% was possible by
topdressing with urea or Jeevamrutham (liquid organic
manure)
• Bio-pesticides were equally effective as insecticides in
reducing damage by pod borer in field bean and red gram
crops.
• Jawathu Hills: Optimum plant population by using seed
drill and reducing seed rate resulted in 17% yield
advantage; it needs further standardisation

15. Results of on-farm production trials in project sites
• Peraiyur: MN application did not show much
effect on growth and yield in barnyard millet.
• Bero: Guli method recorded 28.8% increased
grain yield and 9% increased straw yield over the
normal practice;
• Two farmers obtained as high as 17q/ac by Guli
method as against about 10 q/ac of their own
practice.

16. Introduction of efficient small tools
• Three types of ploughs (Anchetty, Uthangarai and
Tirupathur) were tested in J Hills and based on the
preference of the farmers, Thirupathur model was
promoted to 220 farmers.
• For selection of good quality seeds from the farm saved
seeds, suitable sieve for grading of seeds was developed
for each crop and its variety in four sites and
disseminated to the farmers
• Thinner and harrows from Anjetty was popularized in J
Hills.
• Grain pro bags was introduced for reducing the storage
loss of pulses.

17. Location specific NRM measures identified and popularised
• Silt application for increasing soil fertility
and to improve soil structure
• Solar fencing for protecting the crop from
wild animals
• Earthen bunding

18. Research for addressing Harvesting and Dehulling
constraints
• Field testing of mechanical harvester
• 32 times efficient in terms of time
• 32 labour days saving in harvesting of one hectare
• A reaper cum binder was tested for little millet in
Jawadhu Hills.
• Improved dehuller developed in the project was field
tested in two sites for little millet.
• Women in the working sites expressed that the drudgery in milling
is reduced
• Evaluation of „Four walker multi-crop thresher‟ model in
two sites for finger millet and kodo millet
• Further fine tuning is needed.

19. Improved Dehuller for Small Millet

20. Farmers Participation in the 5 Research sites of India
Male Female
PVS 1435 773
SAK besides on-
farm trials
2012 -13 127 36
2013-14 261 248
On farm
research trials
2013-14 211 60
NRM 2013 -14 35 248

21. Conclusion
• PTD approach adopted in the project helped in
• Identifying the site specific constraints
• Prioritising them for on farm research
• Identifying 2-3 potential interventions in each sites
• Identifying the areas for improvement of the harvester, thresher and
dehuller.
• PTD also helped in improving the capacity of the farmers
in the site for experimentation
• Farmer to farmer training was found to be more effective

22. Way forward
• Large plot demonstrations combining more than one
interventions will be taken
• The identified interventions will be classified into two
categories;
• 1. Technologies that can be adopted by the farmers on their own &
• 2. Technologies that needs support for adoption
• Accordingly promoted through farmers organisations.
• Credit from SHGs will be appropriately used
• Efforts would be taken to get support from the prevailing
government schemes like INSIMP for the identified
technologies.

23. Thank you!