With growing interest in minor millets, research needs include recommended geographic positioning by type of millet and popular varieties which should include not only longitude and latitude, but also elevation above sea level and preferred drainage, humidity, precipitation patterns, and climate type (e.g. temperate, Mediterranean, tropical, etc.).

Promoting Minor Millets as Climate-Resilient Crops

1. Improved Agronomic Practices: Enhancing Resilience and Yield

Minor millets thrive in marginal environments, but their productivity can be significantly boosted through targeted agronomic interventions:

• Optimized Sowing Windows: Adjusting planting dates to align with rainfall patterns improves germination and reduces crop failure risks.
• Soil and Water Management: Techniques like ridge-furrow planting, mulching, and micro-irrigation enhance water-use efficiency and soil health.
• Integrated Nutrient Management (INM): Combining organic (e.g., FYM, vermicompost) and inorganic fertilizers improves soil fertility and crop vigor.
• Weed and Pest Control: Timely weeding and use of bio-pesticides reduce competition and crop stress, especially in early growth stages.
• Intercropping Systems: Pairing millets with legumes (e.g., pigeon pea) improves land use efficiency and nitrogen fixation.

These practices not only increase yields but also stabilize production under erratic climatic conditions.

2. Varietal Selection: Matching Genotype to Environment

Strategic varietal selection is key to unlocking the potential of minor millets:

• Drought- and Salinity-Tolerant Varieties: Landraces like foxtail millet and proso millet exhibit strong tolerance to abiotic stress.
• Short-Duration Cultivars: Early-maturing varieties escape terminal drought and allow for double cropping in rainfed systems.
• Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS): Involving farmers in selecting locally adapted varieties ensures better adoption and seed sovereignty.
• Nutrient-Dense Genotypes: Varieties rich in iron, calcium, and dietary fiber support both nutrition security and market differentiation.

Role of Scientific Interventions

A. Genetic Improvement and Breeding

• Conventional Breeding: Selection for yield, stress tolerance, and disease resistance has led to improved cultivars like SIA 3085 (foxtail millet).
• Genomic Tools: Marker-assisted selection and genome sequencing (e.g., finger millet, foxtail millet) accelerate trait introgression.
• Germplasm Conservation: Ex-situ and in-situ conservation of landraces ensures genetic diversity for future breeding.

B. Biotechnological Innovations

• Gene Editing (e.g., CRISPR): Potential to enhance traits like drought tolerance and nutrient use efficiency.
• Microbial Bioinoculants: Use of Azospirillum, Pseudomonas, and mycorrhizae improves nutrient uptake and stress resilience.

C. Post-Harvest and Value Chain Development

• Processing Technologies: Dehulling, puffing, and extrusion improve shelf life and consumer appeal.
• Product Diversification: Ready-to-eat millet snacks, flours, and beverages increase urban market penetration.
• Digital Platforms: E-markets and traceability systems connect farmers to consumers and institutional buyers.

Scaling Adoption: Policy and Extension Synergy

• Incentivize Millet Cultivation: Include minor millets in Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Public Distribution Systems (PDS).
• Capacity Building: Train extension agents and farmers in climate-smart millet agronomy.
• Research-Policy Linkages: Align millet R&D with National Food Security and Climate Adaptation strategies.

Conclusion

Improved agronomic practices and varietal selection, when backed by scientific innovation and policy support, can transform minor millets from “orphan crops” into climate-smart staples. They offer a pathway to resilient, nutritious, and sustainable food systems, especially for vulnerable agro-ecologies.

Advanced

Development

Economics

TOPIC: Water as an important economic and health resource

Recommended readings:

Du Plessis, A. May 2023. Cholera in South Africa: a symptom of two decades of continued sewage pollution and neglect, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/cholera-in-south-africa-a-symptom-of-two-decades-of-continued-sewage-pollution-and-neglect-206141

Du Plessis, A. Dec 2023. Water crisis in South Africa: damning report finds 46% contamination, 67% of treatment works near to breaking down, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/water-crisis-in-south-africa-damning-report-finds-46-contamination-67-of-treatment-works-near-to-breaking-down-219350

Edokpayi et al, Water 2018, 10.159. https://doi:10.3390/w10020159

Hope, R.; Thompson, P.; Kehler, J. & Foster, T. 2020. Rethinking the economics of water in rural Africa, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 36(1):171-190.

Okesanya et al. Tropical Medicine and Health.2024:52-68. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-024-006143-3

Opuku, S.K.; Filho, W.L.; Hubert, F. & Adejumo, O. 2021. Change and health preparedness in Africa: Analysing trends in six African countries, Int. J. Environ. Res Public Health, 2021, 18, 4672. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094672

Ssekyanzi, G.; Ahmad, M.J.& Choi, K. 2024. Sustainable solutions for mitigating water scarcity in developing countries: A comprehensive review of innovative rainwater storage systems, Water,2024, 16, 2394. https://doi.org/10.3390/W16172394

UNICEF.2022. State of the World's drinking water. https://www.unicef.org/media/55276/file/Progress

UN Water, 2019. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2019: Leaving no one behind. https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/documents/2019-05/world_water_development_report_2019.pdf

UN Water, 2024. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2024: Water for prosperity and Peace. https://globalwater.osu.edu/sites/default/files/2024-03/The%20United%20Nations%20World%20Water%20Development%20Report%202024-%20water%20for%20prosperity%20and%20peace.pdf

Please note that these are only a few sources. You are expected to consult other sources.

The research proposal should contain the following sections:

1. Introduction: Context and background

2. Problem statement

3. Objectives of the study

4. Research question/hypothesis

5. Significance of the study

6. Outline of the study

7. Literature review

8. Research methodology

Assessment Criteria: Quantitative Yes No

Introduction, problem statement and research objectives-

/questions and research method

Is the background to your study explained well and have you articulated the theoretical and practical relevance and originality of your work?

Is the problem statement clear and well enunciated?

Are the research objectives or questions formulated in line with the scope of the study and are they feasible?

Is the research method clearly specified to achieve the objectives, answer the research questions or validate the hypotheses?

Is the model well specified and variables to be used explained and justified?

Expected outcomes and significance, scope and section overview

Have you indicated what you expect to discover and why you think this discovery is meaningful?

Have you clearly stated the limits of your research, in terms of coverage and other limitations such as data type and sources, analytical models and techniques used, etcetera?

Have you explained in your introduction what order you propose to discuss the various relevant issues? In other words, have you explained briefly (in one or two sentences) the logic behind the order in which you propose to discuss things?

When you do qualitative research, this assignment also allows you to

(a) widen your literature review of Assignment 02 to a more comprehensive literature review, where you also substantiate the qualitative methodology you plan to use, and

(b) put your literature review to use in substantiating the key arguments which support your claimed solution to your central research question or the central thesis of your Research Report. This argumentation and substantiation as well as the use of tables and graphs forms the equivalent of the data and modelling work required in quantitative research and

(c) add a concluding section, abstract and recommendations to that work. The abstract should be placed immediately after the cover page and before the Table of contents.

Assignment 03: Task

If a qualitative paper:

Submit an electronic report of your literature review, synthesis, descriptive statistics, and list of references (5 000 words excluding list

of references), a conclusion (350 words) and an abstract (not more than 250 words).

If a quantitative paper:

Submit an electronic report of your literature review, a description of your data, model and estimation methods, your empirical results as well as a list of references (5 000 words excluding list of references), a conclusion (350 words) and an abstract (not more than 250 words). NB:

1. Only the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique should be used for data or regression analysis. If you want to go further and use time series or panel data, please consult and get permission from your supervisor.

2. You must include the reference list when submitting your assignment to Turnitin.

3. You must clearly indicate your word count in your assignment.

Nothing over the stated limit will be marked.

Improved agronomic practices such as intercropping, precise sowing, soil health management, and using high-yielding, drought-tolerant millet varieties can enhance productivity and climate resilience, making minor millets more attractive to farmers in water-scarce or climate-vulnerable regions.