Question

For centuries, millets such as ragi, jowar and bajra were staple foods across the drier parts of India. They grow on poor soil, need far less water than rice and can survive long gaps between rains. From the 1960s onwards, however, government procurement and subsidised distribution focused heavily on rice and wheat, and millets slowly came to be seen as coarse food eaten only by the poor. Many farmers who once grew them switched to crops that the state would buy at a guaranteed price. In recent years, interest in millets has returned. Nutritionists point out that they are rich in fibre and minerals and that they raise blood sugar more slowly than polished rice. Climate scientists value them for a different reason: as rainfall becomes less predictable, a crop that tolerates drought is a form of insurance. Yet enthusiasm in city supermarkets has not automatically reached the fields. Millets are harder to process than wheat, and many small farmers still have no mill nearby. Unless procurement, processing and demand grow together, experts warn, the revival may remain a fashion among urban shoppers rather than a change in what farmers choose to plant. According to the passage, why did many farmers stop growing millets?

Accepted Answer

The government bought rice and wheat at a guaranteed price

Answer

Millets could no longer grow on poor soil

Answer

Nutritionists warned that millets were unhealthy

Answer

Rainfall in the drier regions increased

According to the passage, why did many farmers stop growing millets?

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