Have you just started enjoying millet foods but wondering where to find the best options? Here’s some help. The International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has opened an online search window to help the millet lovers find various choices available.
Promoting healthy food
The Millet Finder is a window available on the SmartFood website. SmartFood is an ICRISAT initiative to promote healthy food. The online treasure trove presently offers information on about 500 products from 30 countries. “Another 500 products are identified and set to be added to the list,” said an ICRISAT spokesperson. “We have compiled this product database from scratch. We also plan to automate this database using artificial intelligence and make information accessible through an interactive app, which can help anyone in the world find the closest shop or restaurant selling millets, compare products, check out ingredients and much more,” said Parkavi Kumar, lead creator of Millet Finder and Senior Communication Officer, Smart Food initiative, ICRISAT.
“Unless there is a consumer-driven demand and movement to diversify diets, farms cannot diversify and agriculture cannot be sustainable. By diversifying staples, we can have a major impact on diets, farms and the environment,” said Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director-General of ICRISAT, and Chair, Smart Food Executive Council.