Kerala's Millet Village Programme, 2017: Assessing Tribal Livelihoods And Food Security In Attappady - IMPRI Impact And Policy Research Institute

Policy Update
Ayana N K

Background

Attappady, the only tribal taluk in Kerala, is home to the Irula, Muduga, and Kurumba communities, who constitute approximately 43% of the local population. Located in Palakkad district on the fringes of the Western Ghats, the region has historically been plagued by high infant mortality and malnutrition. In 2013 alone, 31 infant deaths were reported in Attappady (the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), Attappady, under the Government of Kerala), a striking figure for a state otherwise known for the lowest infant mortality rates in India.

The Millet Village Programme was launched in 2017 by the Kerala government’s Agriculture Department in collaboration with the Scheduled Tribes Development Department. The initiative was designed to address the twin crises of malnutrition and livelihood insecurity by revitalizing traditional millet cultivation among tribal communities. The programme aimed to protect traditional seed varieties of millets such as ragi, bajra, and maize, while ensuring food security and sustainable livelihoods for the Adivasi population.

For decades, millet cultivation had been the backbone of Attappady’s tribal food system. The Irula, Muduga, and Kurumba communities practiced shifting cultivation, growing diverse millet varieties that provided year-round nutritional security. However, colonial forest policies that restricted shifting cultivation, followed by post-independence distribution of subsidized rice through the Public Distribution System, gradually eroded traditional agricultural practices. By the early 2000s, millet farming had nearly disappeared from Attappady, contributing to worsening nutritional outcomes and loss of livelihood diversity.

Functioning

The Millet Village Programme operates through a joint implementation framework involving the Agriculture Department and the Scheduled Tribes Development Department. The programme was initially sanctioned with a budget of ₹6.87 crore for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20, with ₹4.87 crore contributed by the ST Development Department and ₹2 crore by the Agriculture Department.

The first phase of the programme, launched in October 2017, targeted 32 selected tribal settlements, with plans to cultivate ragi on 200 hectares, small cereals on 100 hectares, and horse gram and beans on 10 hectares each. The programme was subsequently expanded to cover 97 settlements across Attappady.

A key institutional innovation was the establishment of the Attappadi Tribal Farmers Association for Millets (ATFAM), a farmer producer company with 164 members that aggregates, processes, and markets millet products. The value chain involves tribal farmers as primary producers, Farmer Producer Companies for aggregation and processing, Kudumbashree microenterprises for value addition, and cooperative societies for retail marketing. Kudumbashree units—the state’s poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment initiative—play a crucial role in processing, packaging, and branding millet products.

The programme provides subsidies to participating farmers, with ₹12,000 per hectare for millets and pulses, and ₹15,000 per hectare for oil seeds and vegetables. Organic certification has been secured for millet crops from 926 farmers across 741.97 hectares, facilitated through INDOCERT. The government procures organically certified millets at ₹60 per kilogram and non-certified produce at ₹40 per kilogram through the programme.

Performance

The Millet Village Programme has demonstrated significant expansion in cultivation coverage and farmer participation since its inception. Cultivation grew from 150 acres in 40 tribal settlements in 2017 to approximately 950 hectares in the first season of 2024, with 1,220 tribal farmers from 97 settlements actively cultivating millets (Kerala Public Relations Department (PRD). Earlier data from the Kerala government indicated that by 2020, millet cultivation had been established on 2,319 hectares with total production of 1,506 metric tonnes.

The programme has received national recognition for its contribution to millet promotion. Kerala was awarded the “best millet promotion state” tag by the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) during the International Year of Millets in 2023. The programme has been funded under the Rebuild Kerala Initiative with an allocation of ₹7.99 crore.

Health outcomes have shown measurable improvement, though attribution remains contested. Infant mortality in Attappady declined from 31 deaths in 2013 to 12 in 2017, and further to nine in 2021. Dr. M.S. Padmanabhan, medical superintendent at the Tribal Speciality Hospital in Kottathara, cautioned that “we cannot fully attribute millets as the sole reason for the success,” while acknowledging that “millet-based foods for mothers and newborn babies have definitely improved their health”. R. Latha, assistant director of the Agriculture Department in Attappady, stated that “infant mortality has drastically declined during the last five years due to the revival of millet-based indigenous cuisine”.

However, the programme’s performance has been marked by significant challenges. In 2025, reports emerged that the Millet Village scheme had been effectively terminated due to administrative apathy. The Deepika newspaper reported that 21 employees, including nine tribal staff, were dismissed without 14 months of wages, even as the scheme had received budget allocations. T.R. Chandran, state convenor of the Adivasi Mahasabha, alleged that claims of 1,290 metric tonnes of millet production were fraudulent, asserting that millets were being purchased from Tamil Nadu and repackaged rather than genuinely cultivated in Attappady.

Impact

The programme has had a demonstrable impact on tribal livelihoods through the reintroduction of millet cultivation as a source of income and food. Farmers participating in the scheme report earnings of ₹60 per kilogram for organic produce, with ATFAM marketing approximately 36 value-added products including ragi puttu podi, ragi dosa mix, and chama uppumavu mix. The value chain has created economic opportunities for tribal women through Kudumbashree microenterprises engaged in processing and packaging.

The nutritional impact has been significant, particularly for maternal and child health. The revival of millet-based indigenous cuisine has contributed to improved health outcomes among pregnant women and newborns, with locally produced ragi, maize, and pulses prioritized for distribution to address anemia and malnutrition. The Food Support Programme in Attappady, strengthened with allocations of ₹2,500 lakh in 2024-25 (Kerala State Planning Board’s Annual Plan 2024-25), explicitly prioritizes locally sourced millet-based food items to ensure both nutritional security and support for tribal farmers.

However, the programme’s impact has been severely constrained by the broader crisis of land alienation. Research has established that the loss of traditional lands has eroded the very foundation of millet-based food sovereignty. The Adivasis of Moolagangal, for instance, have been systematically dispossessed of 982.43 hectares of forest land legally recognized as Community Forest Rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Non-Adivasi claimants have fenced off large portions of this land, blocking access to critical resources including pathways to the Kodungarapuzha river, the community’s cremation ground, and areas vital for millet cultivation.

As Maariyamma, an elderly Irula woman, observed, “There were hundreds of green leafy vegetable varieties in those days that kept us strong”. The loss of biodiversity accompanying land alienation has meant the disappearance of wild edibles, medicinal plants, and traditional crops, pushing communities toward monoculture diets and worsening food insecurity.

Emerging Issues

Several systemic issues threaten the sustainability of the Millet Village Programme. Fundamentally, land alienation remains the most critical challenge because millet cultivation requires secure land rights that tribal communities increasingly lack. For example, the situation in Moolagangal illustrates a broader pattern. Here, projects under MGNREGA, agricultural schemes, soil conservation initiatives, NABARD-funded programmes, and drinking water projects all operate in the name of benefiting Adivasis. Yet, the Revenue Office explicitly states that the land does not belong to them. Consequently, this legal ambiguity undermines the programme’s foundation.

Furthermore, institutional dysfunction undermines programme continuity. The reported termination of the scheme, despite available budget allocations, suggests a disconnect between policy commitments and administrative execution. Additionally, the failure to conduct evaluation meetings for agricultural programmes in 2024-25 indicates weak monitoring mechanisms.

Financial constraints also limit the programme’s reach. The government withdraws subsidies for pulses, oil seeds, and vegetables due to a financial crunch, even as millet subsidies continue. Therefore, the programme’s funding under the Rebuild Kerala Initiative requires sustained commitment beyond initial allocations.

Market and supply chain vulnerabilities persist as well. Millet cultivation remains largely subsistence-oriented, and sales quantities remain small and inconsistent. Ecological constraints, including erratic rainfall and wildlife intrusion, continue to affect yields. Finally, data credibility emerges as a concern, with allegations of inflated production figures and external procurement undermining claims of genuine local cultivation.

Way Forward

Strengthening the Millet Village Programme requires addressing the foundational issue of land rights. The implementation of the Forest Rights Act and PESA Act in Attappady must be accelerated, with priority given to restoring Community Forest Rights to tribal communities and resolving the land alienation cases documented in Moolagangal and other hamlets. A judicial commission to examine tribal land issues, as recommended by the Ooru Jadd 2026 conclave, would provide an accountability mechanism.

Institutional reforms are needed to ensure programme continuity beyond political cycles. The Millet Village scheme should be granted statutory backing with guaranteed multi-year funding, similar to the Rebuild Kerala Initiative but with stronger oversight mechanisms. Regular evaluation meetings involving tribal representatives, agricultural officials, and civil society should be mandated to prevent the administrative neglect that led to the programme’s reported termination.

Market integration requires investment in post-harvest infrastructure. The proposed secondary millet processing unit at Agali, designed to produce ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products including biscuits, cookies, noodles, and pasta, should be expedited. Strengthening ATFAM and Kudumbashree units through capacity building and credit access would enhance value addition and market reach.

Nutritional surveillance should be institutionalized to track health outcomes and refine programme design. The integration of locally produced millets into the Food Support Programme and nutrition rehabilitation centres provides a foundation for sustained nutritional improvement. Community health workers should be trained to monitor dietary diversity and nutritional status, with data used to adapt programme interventions.

Finally, the programme must be reconceived as part of a broader agroecological restoration strategy. The historical link between millet cultivation, food sovereignty, and community health must be recognized in policy design. As the Adivasi families of Attappady have consistently asserted, the solution to malnutrition lies not merely in providing nutritious food but in restoring the land, biodiversity, and traditional agricultural systems that made food sovereignty possible.

References

Kerala PRD. (2025). അട്ടപ്പാടിയിൽ മില്ലറ്റ് വിപ്ലവം. https://prd.kerala.gov.in/ml/node/312320
Integrated Tribal Development Project, Attappady. (2018). Millet village for Food Security. https://itdpattappady.kerala.gov.in/2018/03/21/millet-village-for-food-security/
Kerala State Planning Board. (2025). Performance Budget: Scheduled Tribes Development. http://niyamasabha.org/codes/15kla/Session_16/Budget%20Documents/33.%20Performance%20Budget_ST%20Development.pdf
Down To Earth. (2025). On paper only: How Adivasis of this Kerala hamlet were stripped of their forest rights. https://www.downtoearth.org.in
M S Swaminathan Research Foundation. (2025). Kerala’s tribal farmers sow success with millets. http://development.mssrf.org/our-stories/keralas-tribal-farmers-sow-success-with-millets
The Hindu. (2017). Aiming for healthier Attapady. https://www.thehindu.com
National Institute of Nutrition. (2023). Attapadi Final Report. https://www.nin.res.in
Krishi Jagran. (2017). Millet Village: Aiming to encourage traditional farming among tribes. https://krishijagran.com
Madhyamam. (2025). ആറു വർഷത്തിനിടെ ചെലവിട്ടത് എട്ടര കോടി; പ്രയോജനമില്ലാതെ അട്ടപ്പാടിയിലെ മില്ലറ്റ് പദ്ധതി. https://www.madhyamam.com/kerala/attappadi-millet-project-1466763
New Indian Express. (2024). Tribal farmers persevere as millet cultivation booms in Attappadi. https://www.newindianexpress.com
International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development. (2024). Millet Value Chain Structure in Attappadi. https://www.extensionjournal.com

About the Contributor

Ayana N K is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calicut. With a keen interest in public policy, international relations, and development studies.