ABSTRACT
Neglected and underutilized species (NUS) from the Poaceae family (genera Eleusine, Panicum, Setaria, and Paspalum) continue to be cultivated by small and marginal farmers inhabiting hilly and marginal environments. However, in recent decades, developmental and market forces have determined the decline of on-farm agrobiodiversity, further aggravating the vulnerability of smallholder farm families. Increased market availability of major cereals and the drudgery in millet processing has dampened traditional preferences and the consumption of the latter. Nevertheless, over the last two decades or so, concerted efforts have been mounted by national and international agencies to enhance the use of small millets through participatory variety selection, improved cultivation methods, enhanced processing and market linkages. They key to success of such initiatives was their participatory, multidisciplinary, community-centred and multi-stakeholder value-chain development interventions, that increased the productivity and income of local growers, which ultimately supported the conservation and consumption of these traditional crops. This chapter showcases some relevant approaches and experiences of these interventions implemented across India.
