Value chain dynamics of millet cultivation among tribal farmers in Attappadi, Kerala

Introduction

Millet, often termed a nutri-cereal, includes grains such as finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), and little millet (Panicum sumatrense). These crops are drought-tolerant, require less water, and thrive in marginal soils, making them ideal for rainfed regions like Attappadi (FAO, 2021; Mukherjee et al., 2025) [1,5] . The Irula, Kurumba and Muduga communities practised shifting cultivation and later settled rainfed farming systems centred on diverse millet varieties adapted to local topographies and microclimates (Sreeni, 2023) [8] . However, recent decades have witnessed a decline due to land-use changes, climate stress, and erosion of traditional knowledge. Millets have reemerged in global policy discourse, further strengthened by the United Nations' declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Strengthening millet value chains is widely recognised as critical for revitalising production and enhancing smallholder incomes. A value chain encompasses all activities from input provision, cultivation and harvesting to processing, aggregation, marketing and consumption. This study was undertaken to map the millet value chain and identify the key actors, and evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges (SWOC) influencing millet production and marketing in Attappadi.

Materials and Methods

The study was conducted in the Attappadi tribal block located in the Palakkad district of Kerala, as it has the highest area under millet cultivation. It is also recognised as the 'Millet Village of Kerala' by the government of Kerala. It occupies an area of 745 sq. km and consists of three panchayats, namely, Agali, Pudur, and Sholayur. The Irula, Kurumba and Muduga are the three main ethnic groups in Attappadi, residing in small hamlets called 'oorus', there are 192 tribal hamlets or oorus in the block. A total sample of 150 respondents was selected, comprising 120 tribal millet farmers chosen through random sampling and 30 value chain actors identified through random and snowball sampling. Primary data were collected using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews with traditional leaders and institutional representatives. Separate schedules were used for producers and actors. Secondary data were obtained from government reports, published research articles and project documents. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS software and MS-Excel and involved descriptive statistics, value chain mapping was employed to systematically chart actors, processes, and relationships. Socio-demographic analysis and a SWOC matrix framed the discussion around strengths, www.extensionjournal.com weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of the value chain in Attappadi.

Results and Discussion

The socio-demographic characteristics of the tribal farmers are given in Table 1. The majority of respondents (47.5%) belonged to the 36-59 years age group, signifying that the active farming population is primarily in their middle age. 36.7% respondents were above 60 years, while only 15.8% were below 35 years, suggesting limited involvement of youth in millet cultivation. In terms of family size, 51.7% of the respondents belonged to families with less than four members. This indicates a predominance of nuclear families in the study area, which may influence labour availability for farm operations as most of the farm families relied on family labour. Of the respondents, 39.2% of tribal farmers own more than 2 acres and only 7.5% use more than 2 acres for millet cultivation. About 28.4% of the tribal farmers have less than 1 acre under millet cultivation, a much larger share of the respondents (64.2%) restricted millet cultivation to about 1-2 acres. The data show a clear divergence between total landholding and the area actually allocated to millet cultivation. This indicates that farmers, regardless of their total landholding, allocate only a modest portion of their land to millets. The pattern reflects a subsistenceoriented approach, where millets are maintained primarily for household consumption rather than commercial expansion. With respect to farming experience, 79.2% of the respondents had more than 20 years of experience in agriculture. Tribal farmers cultivated millets based on indigenous agricultural knowledge passed on orally through generations. The educational profile of the respondents indicated that 72.5% were illiterate.

Millet Value Chain Structure

The actors involved in the millet value chain of Attappadi are producers (tribal farmers), FPCs, Kudumbashree miceoenterprises, co-operative farming societies, entrepreneurs, Krishi bhavan, retailers and consumers. This study reveals that millet cultivation remains largely subsistence-oriented. Farmers primarily grow millets for their household food security, and the quantities available for sale are small and inconsistent. Farmers relied on traditional cultivars and practiced natural or organic farming based on their indigenous knowledge (Prabhakaran et al., 2017) [6] . Ecological constraints such as erratic rainfall and wildlife intrusion resulted in lower yields (e.g., attack by wild boars and peacock) and similar findings were reported by Karanth et al. (2019) [2] and Logeshwar et al. (2024) [4] . Value addition is primarily carried out by FPCs, Kudumbashree microenterprises, and entrepreneurs. The transformation of raw millets into flour, flakes, mixes, and bakery items adds economic value and opens market opportunities. The FPCs and Kudumbashree units collected millet grains directly from the hamlets and transported it to their processing units, where cleaning, drying, sorting, milling, and other value addition activities were carried out. Kudumbashree is a poverty alleviation and women empowerment initiative started by the government of Kerala and it promotes upliftment of socio-economic status of women through entrepreneurship opportunitites (Kumar et al., 2016) [3] . It plays a crucial role in value addition through its micro-enterprises. These units brand the processed products and channel them to cooperative farming societies for retail marketing through their outlets. The role of Farmer Producer Companies is especially significant, as FPCs serve as aggregators, processors, and market linkages for small entrepreneurs (Trebbin, 2014; Vignesh et al., 2019) [9,10] . FPCs also offer technical assistance to tribal farmers and facilitate marketing through both online platforms and physical sales outlets (Sangappa et al., 2023) [7] . The value addition is primarily undertaken by tribal women at decentralized milling units. In addition to local marketing, processed millet products are distributed to entrepreneurs across Kerala and also sold at Keralagro stores. Keralagro is a brand established under the Department of Agriculture and farmers Welfare, Government of Kerala to sell locally sourced, high quality agricultural products to the consumers. Krishi Bhavans also procure the products from FPCs for sale at government-organized exhibitions. Entrepreneurs procured primary processed millet grains from FPCs, and did further processing and value addition. Overall, FPCs like ATFAM and Kudumbashree units (Madhuvani, Malliswara and True Spices) serve as critical institutional linkages and support systems, strengthening the economic resilience and market integration of tribal farmers in Attappadi.

SWOC Analysis of the Millet Value Chain in Attappadi

The SWOC analysis reveals that Attappadi's millet value chain is supported by strong Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK), active institutional actors such as FPCs and Kudumbashree units, and growing demand for milletbased foods. However, the system remains constrained by subsistence-oriented production, weak post-harvest infrastructure, fragmented supply chains, and limited access to market information. Opportunities such as governmental projects, institutional procurement, and expanding digital markets offer scope for strengthening the millet value chain. The significant challenges identified are climatic variability, wildlife intrusion, high transportation costs, and competition from commercial brands. Overall, the analysis underscores the need for targeted interventions to enhance value-addition capacity, improve infrastructure, and build resilience against ecological and market-related risks. www.extensionjournal.com

Conclusion

Millet cultivation continues to play an important role in food security, culture and ecological resilience in Attappadi. The existing value chain, though fragmented, is strengthened by FPCs, Kudumbashree enterprises and rising market demand. Revitalising millet cultivation requires integrating indigenous knowledge with value chain development, improving processing infrastructure, supporting women's enterprises and strengthening institutional procurement. With targeted policy support, millet-based livelihoods can significantly enhance tribal welfare, agro-biodiversity conservation and sustainable rural development.

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