Abstract:Millets, a diverse collection of small-seeded grasses, are cultivated worldwide as cereal products or grains for human and animal consumption. Despite their high nutritional value and capacity to flourish in unfavourable conditions, millets are not fully utilized. Millets have more vitamins and minerals than rice and wheat. The objective is to examine the patterns in Maharashtra's production of sorghum, bajra, ragi, and other minor millets from 1966-1967 to 2023-2024. With 43 percent (13.5 million tons) of the world's millet production in 2024, India is the top producer in the globe. The nation produced 17.24 million metric tons of millets with an average yield of about 1,262 kg per hectare on a total planted area of 12.88 million hectares. The country's yearly per capita millet consumption has dropped significantly during the last 60 years, from 30.94 kg to just 3.87 kg. Between 2016 and 2022, the area under cultivation of millet decreased significantly in Maharashtra, as did the production of important millets including bajra and sorghum. The productivity per hectare has shown varied tendencies, with bajra productivity marginally improving and sorghum productivity reducing, despite overall production declining.
The compound growth of the sorghum area is negative and significant when the entire study period (1966-1967 to 2023-2024) is taken into account, while the growth rate of output was negative and non-significant. Sorghum productivity, on the other hand, was favourable and statistically non-significant. The growth rate of other millets was negative but none of them was significant. According to decomposition analysis, the yield impact was the only factor responsible for the increase in millet output between 2005 and 2024. The primary cause of Maharashtra's declining millets production was determined to be the yield component. Due to the limited supply of resources, it is essential to increase millets' productivity through the use of improved technologies, such as hybrid millet cultivation and a range of production techniques, in order to meet the projected increase in demand.
