Since surpassing 4 billion in 1975, the world’s population has been increasing by 1 billion people approximately every 12 years. However, problems are also emerging. According to a UN report, the number of people suffering from hunger worldwide will reach 673 million by 2024. There are concerns that climate change will have a negative impact on global food production. In this context, millet (such as barnyard millet, foxtail millet, and proso millet) is attracting attention as a climate change countermeasure due to its drought-tolerance. The United Nations has also designated 2023 as the “International Year of Millet” to promote attention to millet. Millet can grow in poor soils that cultivating rice or wheat is difficult, and is expected to contribute to sustainable food production. Because of their drought-tolerance, millet is becoming increasingly relevant in modern times in light of food issues and climate change. The problem is that the knowledge and skills required for cultivating millet, such as foxtail millet and barnyard millet, are being lost.
Millet and foxtail millet are crops that can thrive even in poor soils that staple crops like rice and wheat are difficult to cultivate. Both millet and foxtail millet are counted among the “five grains,” meaning major grains, and are highly nutritious, including minerals. In Iwate Prefecture, particularly in the northern part of the prefecture, there is a culture of eating millet and foxtail millet. Historically, they were cultivated before rice and are a key crop that has supported Iwate’s food culture. Iwate Prefecture is prone to cold damage. To protect against this damage, a culture of growing and eating millet such as barnyard millet, foxtail millet, and millet has taken root. Barnyard millet is a plant that warms the body and has no part to throw away. Its seeds are eaten by people, and its stalks were once used as feed for farm horses. Iwate’s culture is characterized by its symbiosis with livestock.
The culture of harvesting and eating millet remains in northern Iwate Prefecture, and Hanamaki City is the largest millet-producing area in Japan. One inn in the city sources its millet from a local farm. Cooking will be handled by my husband, a native of Karumai Town. He has been eating millet since childhood. The dinner menu will likely consist of rice blended with a single type of millet, accompanied by a thick barnyard millet soup. Karumai Town in northern Iwate Prefecture calls itself the “millet kingdom.” Elementary schools cultivate millet and serve it in school lunches. There is a risk that shortages of grains, including millet, will become more apparent depending on the situation. We face an uncertain environment, with extreme weather, international conflict, and fertilizer depletion due to fuel shortages. In this climate, one solution is to improve millet varieties. A more time-consuming solution may be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve stable weather conditions.
Note:
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani is from Iwate Prefecture. He may have also tried millet.
