Millets Enter Mainstream Through Odisha’s Millet Mission, but Structural Gaps Remain To Make it an Industry

When Surekha Routray conceptualised Millsmor in 2022, the landscape for traditional grains in Odisha was markedly different. "I wanted people to have nutrition-rich food. There was a lot of wealth in the kind of nutritional habits that were prescribed by our ancestors, but somewhere down the line, it was lost," explains Routray, whose company focuses on millets and moringa-based products.

Her entry into the snacking segment was strategic. Research revealed that Indian consumers spend significantly on three categories: staples, condiments, and snacks. Whilst brand consciousness remains low for staples like rice and pulses, the snacking sector presents fertile ground for experimentation. "Snacking is one element where we are open to experimenting a lot. This is a good low-entry barrier point where we can go into the healthy snacking option," Routray notes.

The Odisha Millets Mission, launched in 2017, aimed to revive traditional grain cultivation and create livelihood opportunities for rural women through Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Now renamed Shree Anna Abhiyan, under the new regime, little seems to have changed, neither in functionality nor in ground realities.

According to government data, the state produced approximately 1.47 lakh tonnes of millets in 2022-23, with ragi (finger millet) dominating cultivation across southern districts. Puspa Biswal, who has trained numerous SHGs under the mission, acknowledges progress, "Earlier there was nothing, now millet awareness has increased. Local women are selling millet products by setting up stalls through SHG groups. Definitely help has happened."

Awareness Created, Infrastructure Lacking

Whilst the mission has successfully created awareness, entrepreneurs identify critical infrastructure deficits. Routray points to fundamental challenges, "Large production, yes. The quality of production needs improvement. Processing definitely needs improvement."

The processing gap is particularly acute. Odisha's grading and sorting machinery remains inferior to that of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, resulting in contamination. "After breaking it, it has to be sorted. The sorting machines in Odisha are inferior in quality to those in Andhra Pradesh. So a little bit of sand is left," explains Routray, comparing the problem to finding grit in puffed rice,  a famous staple snack in the region.

This technical shortcoming forces established brands to source processed millets from outside the state, undermining the mission's objective of building a self-sufficient value chain. Satyabrath Muni, founder of Munico Millets, concurs, "Most of the players are now procuring the raw materials from outside. We have the potential. We need to get there, but we are not there yet."

Biswal identifies a more fundamental problem: quality training remains inadequate. "The government has not been able to provide good-quality training," she observes. The disconnect manifests starkly at Millet Shakti cafes, ostensibly established to promote millet consumption. "I went to Rayagada for training recently. I saw the Mission Shakti cafe, they're selling rice and dalma. Not millet," Biswal notes wryly.

The Startup Support Paradox

Perhaps the most glaring gap lies in support for scalable enterprises. The Odisha Millets Mission primarily focused on nano-enterprises through SHGs, with limited provisions for growth-oriented startups. Muni, whose company began operations in 2022 from Berhampur, articulates the frustration, "When it comes to startups, millet and support, they have one or two competitions, hosted by the government, except for these competitions, they don't get direct support."

The competitive landscape reveals this disparity starkly. Munico Millets won the first prize at the 2023 Millet Innovation Challenge in Bhubaneswar, yet struggled to secure exhibition space at government-organised fairs like the recent Sisir-Saras at Bhubaneswar. "We did not get a stall at all, even though we tried our level best. A lot of SHGs got that, but startups did not get that," Muni states.

Biswal confirms the institutional bias, "Government is not helping brands. Whatever startup funding they receive, they obtain through MSME funding. The government is helping SHGs as much as it is helping brands. SHGs are getting free stalls. Brands have to pay a lot of money for stalls." She observes a troubling pattern at airports and government venues where SHGs receive subsidised spaces but often sublease to commercial vendors whilst retaining the institutional benefits.

Routray identifies a philosophical shift: "There is a tectonic shift from creating entrepreneurs to creating livelihood. Now they are more open to doing B2B deals rather than becoming brands." Whilst this pragmatism recognises that not every SHG can build consumer brands, it inadvertently creates a two-tiered system in which genuine entrepreneurs are underserved.

Quality Concerns and the Path Forward

The raw material market tells a more positive story. Ragi prices have surged approximately 50 per cent in three to four years, from Rs. 30-32 per kilogramme to Rs. 40-45, reflecting genuine market demand. However, cultivation patterns remain skewed. "When you say millet, and they say oh mandiya [foxtail], but there are so many more millets that are there," notes Routray.

Cultural barriers persist despite nutritional awareness. In northern Odisha, millets still carry class stigma as "poor man's food," in contrast to the southern districts, where consumption has remained consistent. Yet even amongst trained SHGs, quality consciousness remains low. Biswal is blunt, "They don't want to make quality products, they don't think it's necessary. If people like the taste, people will eat it."

She advocates merit-based support, "Until the government stops this, only giving to SHGs and not to others, and instead helps whoever is interested, whether an entrepreneur or an SHG. Give platforms like airports, hospitals, and parks to everyone. Conduct quality testing and award stalls to those who produce high-quality products. Everyone should be equal. Whoever is doing quality work should get support. It's very wrong to only give at the SHG level and not give to others."

For sustainable impact, stakeholders recommend a three-pronged approach. First, substantial investment in processing infrastructure, particularly advanced sorting and grading machinery, to match the quality standards of leading states. Second, differentiated support mechanisms that recognise the distinct needs of nano-enterprises versus growth-oriented startups, with quality-based rather than entity-based resource allocation. Third, rigorous quality training and market-linked farmer education to encourage the commercial cultivation of diverse millet varieties beyond ragi.

As Routray succinctly puts it, "If you want to spend, do it properly; otherwise, don't. When you do it in bits and pieces, you may be spending the same amount of money, but the impact doesn't happen." The Odisha Millets Mission has laid crucial groundwork through awareness and livelihood creation. However, transforming this foundation into a robust, market-competitive value chain and eventually an industry will require targeted infrastructure upgrades, merit-based support systems, and recognition that quality standards, not institutional categories, should determine resource allocation in building a sustainable millet economy.