ABSTRACT
Finger millet is one of the major crops grown under the maize-millet cropping system in the hills of Nepal. It is an important crop for Nepal’s upland farmers because it is a climate-smart crop that withstands environmental adversities and can be cultivated in rain-fed marginal lands with minimum or low external inputs (Joshi et al. 2002; Adhikari 2012). It is a rich and inexpensive source of dietary fibre, iron, calcium, and zinc (NARC 2005; Dida and Devos 2006; Mal et al. 2010). The role of finger millet as a cheap source of valuable nutrients becomes more prominent in a country like Nepal, where 25 percent of the population makes less than US$1.25 per day and where the indicators of human development and food security – such as life expectancy (69 years), child mortality (50 children U5/1,000 live births), underweight child (38.6 percent), maternal mortality (170 women/ 100,000 live births), and adult literacy (60 percent) – are dismal at regional as well as global levels. However, farmers are progressively losing interest in finger millet cultivation because of its tedious and labour-intensive agronomic practices and post-harvest operations. Moreover, it is neglected in the national research and extension system and generally perceived as a low-status food crop in Nepal.
