Why tribals in Tamil Nadu’s Kolli Hills are ‘banking’ on millets

Perhaps, the first grain to be grown by men – millet – has been in vogue in cities over the last few years. More people in India’s metros are looking up for millet porridge, rotis and even cakes and cookies. Interestingly, however, tribal communities in Tamil Nadu’s Kolli Hills are also returning to the ‘coarse’ grain, and supporting this shift in agricultural practice are seeds banks.

Scores of Malayali tribes living in Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu have begun cultivating traditional millet varieties to switch back to the diet that kept their ancestors healthy. A group of tribal women in Kolli Hills is running a community seed bank system that helps in the production of lost millet varieties and ensures the availability of diverse millet varieties to all farmers.

Though the first seed bank was started in 2009, seven such banks are functioning in Kolli Hills now and conservation of seeds and consumption of millets have become a norm in the tribal society. Some 150 tribal farmers have paid close to two tonnes of millet seeds back this year to the bank against the seed loans they took last year.

Through the community seed bank, the women have conserved close to 20 varieties of millets that had not been produced for close to a decade. Now, with the help of the bank, supported by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, there has been an improved access to traditional seeds for over 3,000 farmers over the last decade. Each farmer who takes one bag of seed returns two bags from her harvest the next year.

From July to September, farmers in Kolli Hills sow millets in their farms, and their produce is ready between January and March. During sowing and harvest seasons, seed festivals are organised by women of self-help groups, along with stalls displaying value-added food items made from millets.

When asked about the reasons behind the loss of millet cultivation practices among tribals, farmers like P Kalimuthu elucidate a variety of reasons.

For several generations, the Kalimuthu family (45) has lived in Kolli Hills. His forefathers cultivated various types of millets for their consumption and depended on forest produce for their livelihood.

“Two decades ago, many farmers engaged in tapioca and coffee cultivation. Compared to millets, these cash crops provided better revenue. But over the years, many millet varieties were not cultivated as our families stopped consuming them significantly. We used millets only in our traditional festivals and rituals. With the help of the seed bank, the practice has now been resumed,” said Kalimuthu.

He also added that many of his relatives who had nutritional deficiencies were advised by doctors to consume millet foods.

“Our ancestors consumed rice rarely and depended on millets as their staple. Our generation consumed rice and almost forgot about millet foods. We offered millet sweet balls for our annual village festival. But now, after the doctor’s advice, we are turning to millet foods just like our ancestors,” Kalimuthu told The Federal.

Like Kalimuthu, many farmers are now returning to millet farming and also consuming millet foods as they have access to seeds through the community seed bank.

Renowned Siddha physician Dr G. Sivaraman says there is another important factor that drove tribal families from millet to rice consumption.

“When rice was introduced into the public distribution system at a cheap price in the early 2000s, it gradually replaced millet foods among tribal communities as well. Though the food scarcity was addressed through the public distribution system, it also phased out the consumption of traditional millets from indigenous communities. The tribes of Kolli Hills are an example, but it is good that people are returning to their roots with millet farming and consumption,” he said, advocating millet consumption for all age groups and people from different walks of life.

Dr Sivaraman points to several references to millet food and recipes recorded in Tamil literature which shows that tribal populations consumed the grain.

“Tholkappiyam is considered the most ancient literature. There is a reference to porso millet in a song that talks about the food habits of tribal people. It is significant learning that Kolli Hills tribes, whose ancestors consumed varieties of porso millets, have made an effort to preserve millet and include it in their diet. Millets have micronutrients, iron, and calcium. Minimum consumption of millet meals thrice a week is recommended to meet all nutritional needs,” he said.

Back in Kolli Hills, it was educated women like Vennila Suriyakumar (34) who took charge of the community seed bank project devised by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in 2010. She heads the seed bank in Alathur Nadu panchayat in Kolli Hills. Close to 100 farmers connected to her seed bank branch are now producing 10 varieties of millets.

“Our seed bank has five varieties of finger millets, two varieties of porso millets, three varieties of foxtail millets, and much more. We have retrieved at least 10 varieties of millets in the last decade. We are glad we could source millets that were not sown for almost a decade and many families had forgotten the recipes made with each millet variety. Now, we have stored an average of 10 kilos of seeds of each millet variety. On any given day, close to 100 kg of various seeds are available with us,” Vennila said brimming with pride.

Poongodi Arunchalam (35), another seed bank director, provides details on how the women’s team produces value-added food items using millets and sells them to tourists and regular customers. They make millet laddu, health mixture powder, instant upma mix, chapatti flour, and snacks like muruku and chips.

“Our products are displayed at the farmers' cooperative stall. Many tourists are excited about our value-added food items and buy from us. Some have become our regular customers. Since our hill has 70 hairpin bends and it is very tough for others to reach our villages, transportation of goods is not easy. But with pre-bookings and stalls, we have managed to take our products to customers in the plains,” said Poongodi.

P. Thangavelu, who supervises seven seed banks in Kolli Hills, said these seed banks are predominantly run and maintained by tribal women farmers of Kollimalai. They have conserved and sustained around 20 varieties of traditional millets native to Kolli Hills.

“The main motto of these banks is the conservation of native seeds. This model of community-based and community-led initiatives has proved to be successful as farmers get positive yields and enough buffer stock of seeds is maintained. Started with a small group of people, now hundreds of farmers are actively engaged with the community seed banks. Traditional knowledge and varieties are also sustained. Farmers say that the traditional varieties that were abandoned for a generation are being cultivated again. Strengthening the entire supply chain from cultivation to commerce ensures self-sufficiency and strengthens their livelihood opportunities,” said Thangavelu.

India’s millet push

The Union Budget 2023-24 highlighted the importance of millets, called as Shri Anna as means of sustainable cultivation that can raise the income of small farmers besides providing food and nutritional security globally.

Millets, in addition to providing numerous health benefits, are also beneficial to the environment due to their low water and input requirements. The United Nations declared 2023 the International Year of Millets at India’s request to raise awareness and increase the production and consumption of millets. Earlier, India had marked 2018 as the National Year of Millets to promote the cultivation of millets like ragi, bajra, and jowar, and to achieve nutritional security in the country.

The economic survey 2023, highlighted that India alone was responsible for the production of 80 per cent of Asia’s and 20 per cent of the global production of millet.

India’s average yield of millet is 1239 kg/ha, compared to the global average yield of 1229 kg/ha. India is the largest producer and second-largest exporter of millets in the world.