In this International year of Millets, the first IUFoST Scientific Roundtable of 2023 focuses on Millets for Enhancing Agri-economy, Nutrition, Environmental, and Sustainable Development Goals and is slated for 31 March 2023. The importance of the consumption of varieties of millets in the composite diet for a Sustainable Food System has been emphasized when the International Year was announced at the UN Food Systems Summit, at which IUFoST was one of the invited and leading organizations that gave scientific input. IUFoST experts focused on the role of food science and technology in achieving sustainable and healthy diets across nations.
Millets are grown in more than 130 countries. They represent components of traditional foods consumed by more than 600 million people daily in Asia and Africa. Millets do require less water to grow and therefore are much lower in the carbon and water footprints. Most importantly millets have a good plant-based nutrition profile and are suitable for all strata of the economy in the society. The science and technology of millets suggest these grains are affordable and are used extensively by small and medium industries in Asia and Africa to make ready for consumption using pre-processing methods such as sprouting and drying, roasting, puffing, and flours and even in multigrain dietary patterns.
