The cream of the crop? Dang it is!

Dang has taken the lead in millet farming in the state in the past few years. Around 12,000 hectares are under millet farming in the district; finger millet grows on 8,500 hectares. The farmers also grow other varieties like little, foxtail, proso, barnyard and kodo.
“Millet can survive in extreme rainfall and even with less water. Millet farming is popular as it produces a high yield. Around 10,000 farmers in the district are into millet farming,” said Harshad Patel, district agriculture officer, Dang.
In 2022, 1,154 kg of finger millet was harvested per hectare in the region.
Dang also contributes to millet farming research.
Navsari Agricultural University’s (NAU) Hill Millet Research Station, Waghai, has developed 10 sub-types of finger millet, four each of little and kodo, and one of barnyard millet. “The centre has been conducting research on millet varieties since 1954. We supply 10,000 kg of millet seeds annually all over India for farming,” said Dr Harshal Patil, research scientist at HMRC, Waghai. “Besides having great nutritional value, millet can survive drought and heavy rain too. It is also preferred for organic farmingas it can grow without fertilizers,” added Patil.
“Now, Dang has a thriving cottage industry where groups of tribal women make products like biscuits, papads, sev, chakris and dry bhakhris out of millet,” said Sanjay Bhagariya, deputy director, agriculture department, Dang.
“Our self-help group has tribal women members. We have been trained to make snacks and biscuits from nagli (finger millet) and these are quite in demand,” said Kalpana Gayekwad of Riddhi Sidhhi Sakhi Mandal in Nadagkhadi village.
Last year, nearly 15 years after it was first released for cultivation, a popular pearl millet hybrid made a comeback in its genetically modified avatar in Gujarat. Christened ‘Maru Sona’ or desert gold, it is equipped with the genes to fend off the downy mildew disease. India is the fifth largest exporter of millet in the world. It exports to UAE, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Tunisia, UK and the US among other nations.