Millet: The superfood for achieving sustainable developmental goals

With rapid modernization of the human race, challenges related to poverty and hunger have also been escalated. In order to address these issues, certain goals for ‘Sustainable Development’ were established in the year 2012 at the ‘United Nations National Conference’ held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Later in the year 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which chalked out 17 objectives comprising 179 targets, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The present need for human health and well-being of individuals has taken precedence in recent years, and several antidotes have been suggested to address these conditions. To this effect, nutraceuticals such as millet grains have gained much attention in present times. Millets owe the potential to not only alleviate hunger and malnutrition issues in the world but also to attain several SDGs. Referred to as the ‘rich grain,’ millets have various therapeutic and nutritional features, making them a minimum investment crop and a stable source of income for poor farmers, thus achieving SDG1 and SDG8. Moreover, millets are rich in certain nutrients that help eradicate hunger and thus achieve SDG2. The low glycemic index of millets can help achieve SDG3 and SDG12, whereas its low environmental impact can help with SDG13. Millets also help in preventing the degradation of land and preserving genetic biodiversity, hence achieving SDG15. This review gives a unique perspective on the significance and potential role of millets in achieving several of the outlined goals for sustainable development of the world population. We also present graphical data representing current scenarios of hunger or malnutrition and how millets can be applied to alleviate these global issues.