International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development

author(s)
Chandan Kumar Gochhayat and Vandna Chhabra

abstract
The research article examines the historical development of millets focusing on their fundamental role as food crops throughout different global regions. The cultivation of millets stretches over thousands of years when researchers discovered these crops during Chinese and Indian ancient periods. Millets have expanded globally from their origin across Africa to Europe and the Americas while farmers have modified them to flourish within local climates alongside traditional recipes. The piece examines current obstacles to millet cultivation and consumption patterns alongside strategies for preserving this fundamental crop in today's agricultural environment. It explores challenges such as crop competition and changing eating habits alongside climate change impacts. Large-grained wheat along with corn and rice receive proper recognition regarding their initial agricultural significance while the small-seeded grasses known as millets often disappear into attention scopes. Within earlier farming models millets function as secondary grain crops which hold minimal significance in agricultural planning. Evidence of millet cultivation appears in archaeological sites worldwide yet massive accumulations of millet remains are seldom discovered and they are rarely recognized as fundamental food items. This research examines early millet findings in archaeobotanical records while showing the necessity for better integration of millets into early agricultural interpretation frameworks.