Food for Thought

The King Cereal Wheat will not be displaced but the Finance Minister’s Rs 300-crore thrust on Bajra Ragi, Jowar and other such coarse grains is very interesting. These grains are now reduced to occasional consumption but they are high glycemic foods, high in nutirion, and are great for a diabetes-prone country such as India!

There is only one caveat though, the farmer should find good margins in growing these cereals. Currently, the margins on wheat growing are as much as 20-25 percent. And the margins on these millets should match that. The finance minister has targeted semi-arid and arid region for growing millets. These regions a few years ago had been targeted for growing Jatropha. Since that move has not worked out, he is hoping these farmers will switch to growing millets.