Agri-Americas 2.0 : Powered by Millets
Could a group of humble ancient grains hold the key to the Americas’ food and farming future?
Historically recent arrivals from Eurasia and Africa, millets are gaining a bigger place in food and agriculture across the Western Hemisphere — and for good reason. These small but mighty grains are drought-resilient, nutrient-dense, and incredibly versatile, growing where other crops fail, and opening new possibilities in agriculture and food.
From the Great Plains of the US and Canada, to the heartlands of Brazil, and the Pampas of Argentina, and beyond, millets are rewriting the narrative around sustainable agriculture, regenerative practices, and smart nutrition.
Join us for a power-packed conversation featuring trailblazers across the Americas — from farmers and food innovators to agri-researchers and policymakers — as we unpack how millets can drive the next big shift in agriculture, food culture, and climate adaptation.
What’s on the table?
1. The Millet Map of the Americas
Where are millets being cultivated today? Proso millet, pearl millet, foxtail millet, Japanese millet, and teff, as well as sorghum, are each playing their own role in agriculture across ecologically diverse regions. Dive into emerging and potential production zones around the Americas. (An example map for the US and Canada is shown below.)
2. Farming with Foresight
What are millets – including sorghum – currently grown for? Some are grown for food, and many for other purposes such as animal forage. Discover how millets help farmers cope with water scarcity, regenerate depleted soils, and cut input costs — while fitting neatly into short crop cycles and intercropping systems.
3.Import and Export of Millets
Which millets are imported and exported from the Americas? Sorghum is exported from several countries, while the US and to a lesser extent Canada and Argentina export proso millet. At least nine types of food grade millets are imported as consumer packaged goods from India, four from China, and two from Africa.
4.Kitchens, Cultures, and Culinary Cool
As whole grains, flour, puffs, as ingredients in breads, and in beer, millets are being used in various ways. The gluten-free and lo GI nature of these grains is an attractive point for many consumers.
5. Building the Millet Economy
What will it take to scale proso millet? Learn about value chain bottlenecks, farmer aggregation models, carbon credit tie-ins, and the need for small-scale processing hubs.
6. Research and Collaboration on Millet Varieties and Food Processing
Even though research money is limited, scientists in several countries are working on new varieties of proso millet, pearl millet, finger millet, and sorghum. There is also work on improved processing methods for millets. And the US also has ongoing research on millets for Africa.
Five Key Takeaways
1. Proso Millet: The Climate-Smart Workhorse
With just 60–70 days to maturity, proso millet thrives where corn and wheat struggle — offering a lifeline in drought-prone, low-fertility regions.
2. Pearl Millet: Surprisingly Versatile Rotation and Forage Crop – Next for Food?
Pearl millet also resists drought as well as high heat, and is now grown as far north as southern Canada. It is known as a good forage and rotation crop, and there is growing interest in its potential as a grain crop for food.
3. The Potential of Other Millets
Farmers are growing other millets as cover crops and for animal forage — sometimes in mixes of species — especially in the US. What is the potential for these being developed for other uses such as food?
4. Millets Mean Markets: Farmers Ready to Grow Grain Millets if the Market is There
Many farmers are interested in growing millets, but the main hindrance is lack of a reliable market for the harvest. Processing chains also need development in tandem with market development.
5. Innovation is Sprouting
Millets’ gluten-free, low-GI, and climate-resilient nature makes them attractive to some consumers, but gives them a “specialty food” image for others. Developing a range of products for a diverse market is key.
6. Next Steps for the Americas
Research support, crop improvement, product innovation, and market development will be key to building a millet-powered future across the hemisphere.
Speakers
Don Osborn
Co-Founder, North American Millets Alliance
Sujala Balaji
Founder & CEO, Rainfed Foods
Joni Kindwall-Moore
RN, Founder of Snacktivist Foods
Gary Wietgrefe
Author & Agronomist, North American Millets Alliance
Cicero Beserra de Menezes,
In charge of grain sorghum breeding at Embrapa Maize and Sorghum( South America)
Session Moderator
Suchetana Choudhury
Deputy Executive Editor, Agrospectrum India & Asia; NUFFOODS Spectrum Asia
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