Sangrur farmer to export ready-to-eat millets for health-conscious Canadians

Chandigarh: Having successfully exported nine millet types to Australia last year, a Sangrur-based grower is now targeting the health-conscious
Punjabi diaspora
in Canada with a new consignment of
ready-to-eat millets
ready for shipment next week.
This expansion, fuelled by online visibility and positive word-of-mouth, also sees him catering to a growing local market of individuals and millet-biscuit factories.
After returning from Australia five years ago, Dilpreet Singh, from Rajpura village in Sangrur, made a conscious shift from traditional wheat-paddy farming to millet cultivation. Setting his own standards, he adopted a chemical-free approach.
"We have established complete end-to-end control over the value chain, handling primary and secondary processing, including international-quality packaging, within our own unit," he said.
Embarking on
millet exports
wasn't without initial hurdles. The stringent Australian "nil germination" requirement necessitated the creation of a customised steaming plant on Dilpreet's farm. "Even the Punjab Agricultural University couldn't offer a solution," he recalled, emphasising a year of trial and error.
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Following the successful shipment of 14.3 tonnes to Australia last year, preparations are now underway for exports to Canada.
Highlighting the diverse ways millets are consumed, he explained, "The Punjabi diaspora abroad typically uses Ragi, Jowar, and Bajra as flours, but South Indian communities prefer them as a rice alternative. As for me, I just had brown top millet cooked like rice for lunch."
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations recognised 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM2023) to raise awareness about the health, nutritional, and environmental benefits of millets.
Dilpreet lamented that the state govt can do a lot more in supporting millet cultivation. "Markfed, for instance, could easily integrate millets into their Sohna product line. Yet, they cite a lack of local supply and procure from Haryana. This leaves millet-growing farmers here without adequate buyers – a frustrating paradox," he said.
Fluctuating prices in the local market pose another challenge. "During the International Year of Millets, brown top fetched Rs 85 per kg, only to plummet to Rs 28 per kg as raw material afterwards," Dilpreet explained.
To counter this, he tried to carve out a niche by pre-soaking, dehydrating, and de-husking his millets, extending their shelf life to two years compared to the typical three months. "This value addition also enhances digestibility and imparts a pleasant aroma," he added.
Dilpreet directly markets his homegrown millets online to health-conscious buyers and also supplies Markfed, Punjab Agro, millet restaurants, and millet-based biscuit factories. For his export ventures, including the upcoming consignment to Canada , he also sources millets from Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, in addition to those grown on his 14-acre farm.

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