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Fonio (Digitaria exilis) and Sikiya (Digitaria sanguilanis) are two plants that have much in common, though separated by geography. Both are wild millets from the crabgrass family. Fonio grows in the savannas of West Africa while Sikiya grows in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh. Both are preferred foods of rural and tribal communities. But the similarities end here.
As a millet, Fonio has crossed the seas to reach new lands. Though already widespread in West Africa, it faced a relative decline in relation to cash crops. Socio-economic changes, some of which were related to colonialism, were also responsible for this, says millets expert Don Osborn based in the United States. But as a millet, Fonio has received much attention, thanks to chef Fatmata Binta. Binta, who is from the Fulani tribe, is championing the indigenous grains and foods of Africa, specifically Fonio.
A major bottleneck in the promotion of millets is the processing of these ancient grains. But Osborn adds that it has been taken care of in the case of Fonio. “In recent decades, various people have been working on how to facilitate the processing of Fonio, especially its dehulling, which was a major obstacle and led to the discouragement for growing more of the grain. But many people worked on machines which helped to dehull Fonio, and it was possible, as the grain was widely known.”
Sadly, the process of dehulling millets always falls on women. In Togo, a West African country, fonio has been a women’s crop and the processing of fonio, at least the dehulling, always fell on women. This is also true in the case of India where rural women are mostly engaged in millet processing using traditional methods.
Unlike Fonio, which has gained attention thanks to Chef Binta, Sikiya is languishing. However, it is a favourite food of the Baiga tribals of Central India.
It is important to carry out food decolonisation to champion indigenous foods in times of climate change. According to Susan Owiti of the Kenyan Peasants League, such grains are resistant to the vagaries of climate “They are sacred seeds. Today, most are disappearing, and in order to have them still in our midst, there is a need to ensure that their identities are kept alive because they protect biodiversity and offer nutrition to families. They are seeds kept by our forefathers and have not been patented.” The Kenyan Peasants League promotes agroecology and smallholder farmers in Kenya.
Erasure of ancient foods and food systems of the indigenous kind is an issue as pointed out by Owiti. But in Dindori, Sikiya is fondly remembered by mostly elderly Baiga women. However, as monoculture is taking over, it may become a thing of the past. “There is a need to take control of the food production systems which start at the household level. It also helps in the protection of the ecosystem,” says Owiti. This can be done by ensuring that women have access to and ownership of land which is always not the case. The decision to grow particular crops is mostly taken by men who own lands based on market demands. In Odisha’s Niyamgiri, pineapples have thus pushed out millets, as the former crop brings profit.
Naresh Biswas, who has been championing Sikiya for many years, says he sent seeds a few times to the Indian Institute of Millets Research in Telangana so than it can be examined for its nutritional content. To popularise it, Biswas has also made biscuits from Sikiya and displayed them at exhibitions in Bhopal. “Baigas know Sikiya and consume it. But it is not as popular or widely grown as Ragi. Sikiya comes up naturally in traditional bewar cultivation extant among the Baigas which supports multiple crops.”
Among millets, Ragi got a push due to the Odisha Millets Mission. Even small millets like Kodo and Kutki are quite popular in Bastar now. These millets are being procured with the help of women’s self-help groups. But the nutritious Sikiya remains relatively unknown.
Bhairab Saini, a farmer based in West Bengal’s Bankura district, has been experimenting with Sikiya seeds on his own small diversity plots measuring three metres by three metres and is continuing to do so every monsoon. The aim is to conserve seeds so that they do not vanish. Saini has conserved about 600 seed varieties. But Sikiya is a rare grain, and farmers hardly have any interest, he says.
Land ownership is an important aspect of local food preservation. “Without access to or ownership of land, women cannot produce food. But once they do, it becomes easy, as in majority cases of the food produced at household levels, women play a pivotal role,” adds Owiti. She explains that peasant and popular feminism are tools which help women, especially female peasants, with knowledge to take control of food systems. “If one addresses the issue of gender crops in Africa, one will find that there are crops grown specifically for men while vegetables are left for women.” It is often true that women grow crops keeping in mind household nutrition while men grow crops for profit. Millets provide security to women. In Koraput, many tribal women consider ragi as an asset which they barter, when they lack cash, to buy fish and vegetables.
To protect indigenous foods like millets, decolonisation is also important. Food systems can be decolonised by deciding on what needs to be grown and saying no to policies that don’t support local food systems, explains Owiti. “Owning seeds, manure, organic pesticides and lands, holding public meetings to talk about the importance of preservation of indigenous seeds, calling out multinationals that exist and educating farmers on the perseveration and knowledge sharing of indigenous foods are some of the ways to safeguard ancient food systems. Agroecology schools where farmers meet and share knowledge and food festivals are also important.