Small millets for enduring food security amidst pandemics

Abstract

Highlights Over-reliance on a small number of major cereals impacts on the food and nutritional security of the global population, particularly during abnormal situations.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic challenges the lives and livelihood of marginal communities by limiting their access to these crops.

Diversification of food crops is necessary to address food and nutritional security, and promoting the cultivation of alternative crops in marginal areas is imperative. Food security is an ongoing problem, and current staple foods are not sufficient to overcome challenges such as the present COVID-19 pandemic. We propose here that small millets have the potential to become new staple crops, especially in hunger hotspots. Currently, the absence of intensification of millet farming, lack of deployment of genetic tools for trait improvement, and the need for optimization of storage and supply chains limit crop production. We highlight a roadmap to strengthen small millet cultivation, such as identifying varieties suitable for particular environments and targeting trait improvement using genetic and genomic approaches. These approaches will help to combat hunger and malnutrition and also economically benefit the farmers and stakeholders involved in small millet cultivation amidst the ongoing pandemic.