ISHS Acta Horticulturae 806: International Symposium on Underutilized Plants for Food Security, Nutrition, Income and Sustainable Development
INTEGRATED APPROACHES IN SMALL MILLETS CONSERVATION: A CASE FROM KOLLI HILLS, INDIA |
| Authors: | E.D.I.O. King, V.A. Nambi, L. Nagarajan |
| Keywords: | landraces, Kolli Hills, self-help groups, conservation, South India |
| Abstract:
Selective utilization of crops and varieties in recent times have threatened agrobiodiversity leading to rapid erosion of natural resources and consequently affecting the nutritional security of people. One of the possible pathways for conservation of such neglected agrobiodiversity resources is to bring them into use thereby making them viable crops within the contemporary social and economic context. The paper elaborates on the traditional agricultural practices of millets like little millet (Panicum sumatrense), Italian millet (Setaria italica), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), common millet (Panicum miliaceum), and Kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum) in different landscapes and management conditions of the Malayali tribes in the Kolli Hills, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu, South India. Factors responsible for transition of agriculture in the landscape over the last two decades and its impact on food and nutritional security are discussed. The work of the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) that implements several biodiversity projects in the Kolli Hills aimed at sustainable use of millets adopting an integrated approach consisting of four Cs: (i) conservation, (ii) cultivation, (iii) consumption, and (iv) commerce, are also discussed. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
