The big question before the previous generation was, "How do we produce enough food for everyone?"
India largely answered that question through the Green Revolution.
That is why, last week, ahead of World Food Safety Day, the news that the Director of ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (ICAR-CTCRI) stated, "India has become self-sufficient in food production," caught my attention.
It is a historic achievement for Indian agriculture.
Over the past 12 years, India's food grain production increased from 265 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 376.5 million tonnes in 2025-26.
Rice, wheat, and maize played a major role in this increase.
Rice production, which was 20.6 million tonnes in 1950-51, has now increased to 150 million tonnes.
Maize production has increased from 1.7 million tonnes to about 45 million tonnes.
But during the same period, a different story unfolded quietly.
In 1950-51, India produced about 23 million tonnes of traditional food millets. Today, 75 years later, millet production remains at a mere 18 to 20 million tonnes.
In other words, India achieved food self-sufficiency.
But in that journey, it lost a large food system capable of withstanding climate change.
Today's consumer preferences are also shifting towards rice and wheat-based foods, and meat.
Government procurement policies also focused only on rice and wheat.
As a result, maize, primarily used as animal feed and for industrial purposes, largely replaced millets that were directly consumed by humans.
Barnyard Millet (Echinochloa frumentacea) from Tamil Nadu symbolizes this change.
This millet, which is ready for harvest in 70 to 90 days, can grow well in conditions of low rainfall, high temperatures, and drought.
While a kilogram of rice requires 3,000 to 5,000 liters of water, millets like barnyard millet grow with only a small fraction of that water.
Despite being such a climate-resilient crop, the area under barnyard millet cultivation in Tamil Nadu is only about 4,500 hectares today.
At a time when climate change has emerged as the biggest challenge to agriculture, it is a matter of concern that crops suitable for a future facing climate change have been pushed aside.
The same situation applies to tuber crops like cassava, sweet potato, and elephant foot yam.
Despite their ability to produce more food with less water, their resilience to climate shocks, and their high nutritional value, they have been marginalized in India's food security discussions.
Today, Indian agricultural research stands at a new crossroads.
The question before Dr. Swaminathan's generation was:
"How do we produce enough food for everyone?"
The question facing today's new generation is:
"How do we produce enough food while facing climate change?"
But the answer to this is not just in research stations.
It is also on the consumer's plate. And the new generation largely comprises those consumers.
What a consumer eats today determines what a farmer will cultivate tomorrow.
Every time we choose millets like barnyard millet, little millet, foxtail millet, kodo millet, and ragi, and tubers like cassava and sweet potato, we support a climate-resilient agricultural system.
The Green Revolution helped India conquer hunger.
The next revolution must conquer climate risk.
It will not start in the fields.
It will begin on the new generation's food plate.
For a smart generation, smart food choices are essential.
#Smartfood #Barnyardmillet #Kudiraivali #Echinochloa
