Year of millet: Why the renewed interest in the versatile grain

Phyllis Nduva millet farmer from Makueni county.

Despite these many health benefits of millet, currently, production in Kenya remains significantly low. Kenya imports a significant portion of its millets from neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania, despite its capacity to produce the crop locally. The need for diversification becomes apparent, as heavy reliance on maize, wheat and rice leaves farmers vulnerable to catastrophic crop losses due to unpredictable weather patterns.

As a versatile grain, millet can thrive in regions with high temperatures and limited rainfall thus making it a viable option for areas where traditional cereals, like maize struggle to survive. The eastern and northeastern parts of Kenya, often overlooked for cultivation due to misconception about their harsh climates, could potentially benefit from millet production, says Ojiewo.
Millet production in agribusiness can improve food security, support sustainable agriculture, promote healthy diets, and provide a potential source of income for youth and women. Integrating millets into school feeding programmes can improve children's nutrition and brain development. The increased demand for millets, even in urban supermarkets, shows their growing popularity. Additionally, exploring value-added millet products, could open up new markets and boost overall production and economy.

"Let us make millet a crop that matters, as it plays a crucial role in achieving the country's development goals and the Sustainable Development Goals," says Dr Ojiewo.
"Kenya's journey towards improved food and nutrition security requires a multi-ministerial approach. The Agriculture, Health, Education, and Youth Ministries should collaborate to raise awareness on millet's nutritional and economic benefits and promote its consumption," says economic policy analyst Charles Ayoro.
The importance of millet as a serious food crop with numerous economic and health benefits made the United Nations declare 2023 the international year of millet.
It is against this backdrop that millet growing regions such as Nyanza and Western provinces have now adopted the crop.