 and many of them choose to leave their lands fallow. In the long run, this will lead to soil erosion and desertification. Hence the case for subsidising millet growers is strong – to improve food security, and to maintain the fertility of lands. Procuring millets for distribution in the PDS will be a big first step to support millet growers.
Distributing millets in the PDS would also help strengthen the PDS system itself. Local procurement and distribution of millets, as opposed to the current practice of centralised procurement of rice and wheat, and then transporting these to far-off places, would help reduce transportation and storage costs. The procurement price of millets is substantially lower than that of rice or wheat (though one could argue that it should be higher) thereby reducing the subsidy provided to consumers. One argument that is put forward against universalization of the PDS is that there is not enough grain for procurement by the government – adding millets to the procurement basket would help address this.
People want the PDS to be strengthened, and millets to be made available in their ration shops – of this there is no doubt. Promoting millet cultivation and making them available in ration shops, mid-day meals and child-care centers will address our nutritional crisis, strengthen rural livelihoods, and reduce price inflation of cereals. Will the government listen?