Kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum) and kutki millet (Panicum sumatrense), also called little millet, are small-seeded cereals and among the oldest cultivated crops in South Asia. These cereals have the ability to grow on dry and marginal lands and at the same time produce grains superior in many nutrients to paddy and wheat. Despite kodo and kutki millets’ many valuable properties, their cultivation, consumption and marketing remains underdeveloped compared to other cereals in India. There are indications that
consumer demand for small millets is growing in more urbanised centres like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai and southern India due to a growing awareness and value of health, nutrition, going back to roots and ecoconsciousness. Little is known of the current status and opportunity for marketing of small
millets in Madhya Pradesh, where kodo and kutki are cultivated largely in tribal belts on marginal lands.