2023, Vol. 8, Special Issue 6

This review paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing of millets through Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) as a strategy for sustainable agricultural development. Millets are small-seeded cereals that retain excellent nutritional qualities which grows easily in dry climate, have smaller harvesting period and require minimal water quantity, Photo-insensitive & resilient to climate change, millets are hardy crops that have a low carbon and water footprint, can withstand high temperatures and grow on poor soils with little or no external inputs. Millets are also known as "Miracle crops" or "Poor man’s crops". Increasing interest in reviving the consumption of millets across various countries is favouring the growth prospects of this market in recent years. The imperfect market conditions, inaccessibility to credit, suboptimal investment decisions, unskilled human resource base, inadequate access to extension services and poor technological knowhow are some of the major problems confronting small and marginal farmers in this era of competitive and unstable environment emphasising the need for collaboration, trust-building, and alignment of goals and objectives between FPO and Producer making them benefit from economies of scale and enable better bargaining capacity. It also discusses the role of FPOs in facilitating quality assurance, certification, and compliance with food safety standards, which are crucial for enhancing millet farmers' collective marketing and bargaining power. FPO operations include procurement of inputs, market linkages, networking, facilitating finance, processing and quality control, trainings, technical advice. Lack of awareness among customers, poor infrastructure, insufficient access to markets, and a lack of farmer knowledge and ability regarding value addition and production with a focus on the market are some of the challenges faced by FPO. Opportunities for millet marketing through FPOs are explored through emerging trends, including increasing consumer demand for healthy and sustainable food, the rise of specialty and niche markets, and the growing popularity of traditional and indigenous grains we need to highlight the importance of market research, segmentation, and understanding consumer preferences to effectively target and capture these opportunities.