The medicinal and economic importance of sorghum, millet and green grams growing

In addition, millet is a highly adaptable grain and has many ways to prepare meals or products from it. It is a good cereal for persons living with celiac disease because its gluten free grain for diets for a generation that is trying to live a healthy lifestyle. 

The green grams also called the mung bean, whose cultivation is always proposed in crop rotation schedules so that as a legume, it can help in fixing Nitrogen in the soils and hence help maintain or stabilize the soil fertility of plants and farms. 

Green grams can add up to 30-40 kg N/ha after the harvest of the crop. The green grams has high nutrients value as they contain high amounts of carbohydrates, rich in proteins (a substantive source of dietary proteins), vitamins and minerals. It provides antioxidant compounds which are important in managing diabetes, blood pressure and lowers the risk of cancer and heart diseases.

Green grams are in short, the source of proteins with 24 percent protein content and which is low cost; weight reduction; it has high levels of iron approximately 6mg/100g of dry seed, and hence an important source of the element which is lacking in most Kenyan diets;  strengthens the immune system because it contains antioxidants and immune boosting elements like Vitamins C and E; bone building properties that includes presence of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous all of which are important for formation of healthy and strong bones. Green grams have high fibre content which promotes digestion and reduces constipation and the maintenance of a healthy digestive tract. Green grams contribute about 32 billion Kenya shillings to the Kenyan economy annually, used in several food products, both as a whole grain or in the processed form. 

About 302,000 ha of land in Kenya under green grams production, producing 149,000 tonnes per annum, which is gross below the demand in the domestic market. The global demand for sorghum is set to increase exponentially by 2030 and it is the fifth most grown cereal in the world due to its inherent drought resistance, short growing season and low cost of its production. 

90 percent of global sorghum production is in Africa and developing countries. The demand for sorghum and wheat flour is set to increase at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.40 percent and according to Futures market insights, this demand will be equivalent to US$ 19,920 by 2033 from US$ 11,772.90 in 2023. 

Millet is one of the major crops consumed globally after rice, wheat and maize. Millet works with low water levels and can withstand harsh climatic conditions and it’s an old global crop. Millet has and high rate of return as a crop and hence a good investment crop that can be pursued in the region. The millet is the food of the future which is and will be able to overcome obstacles facing the growing of other crops and agriculture in general. 

Millet is a staple food that should be an alternative for others in the wake of shrinking of land for cultivation of rice, wheat and maize, food shortage, and nutritional deficiencies. In 2021, the world produced 30.1 million tonnes of millet led by India which produced 44 percent of that production. The global millet market size in 2024 is estimated to US$ 11.53 billion and is expected to reach US$ 14.43 billion in 2029, hence it will be growing by CAGR of 4.60 percent during the forecast period. 

These crops have been planted to a great extent in the counties in the region and it is time investors turned to add value in them through setting up factories and industries to process them for diverse products for consumption.  These crops can support manufacturing of diverse products hence help to actualize the Kenya Vision 2030 target of ensuring that 20 percent of the Kenyan Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should be derived or contributed by manufacturing. 

The food processing market system report for 2023 shows that globally, food processing cap was US$ 60630 million in 2023 and is set to increase to US$ 82130 million in the upcoming years hence CAGR of 5.2 percent. Manufacturing goes hand in hand with industrialization. This is because it has been found that newly industrialized economies, such as China, Malaysia and Botswana are also some of the fastest growing economies due to the expansion of their manufacturing base, and because of that, their growth is registered to be approximately 7 per cent for three decades. This manufacturing and industrialization made these countries to quickly achieve middle income status and as such, our own vision of an upper middle-income country must be underpinned by manufacturing and industrialization. 

Going forward, three things are needed to ensure that these crops play their rightful role in our development. One, let us promote the growth of green grams, sorghum and millet to a greater level and hence put more land under the cultivation of the crops. This has the potential to increase employment opportunities for the people. Counties can come up with mechanisms to enhance greater cultivation. These crops are climate smart and resilient and hence the region has comparative advantage in their cultivation.

Secondly, investors should be encouraged to invest in the processing of these crops – investment climate should be favourable, they should be encouraged to set up factories, adequate rates and fees and incentives which leads to more such investments.

Thirdly, more research by universities and researchers in the actual medicinal value of these crops should be undertaken and documented in order to create more awareness and hence encourage greater utilization and value addition of these crops.