HYDERABAD, 21 June 2025: In a pioneering move set to transform millet research and bolster food security in semi-arid regions, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has unveiled ‘Rapid-Ragi’, the world’s first speed breeding protocol for finger millet.
The breakthrough cuts the crop’s typical growing duration from 100–135 days to just 68–85 days, allowing researchers to grow up to five generations per year—a sharp leap from the usual one or two cycles in open-field conditions. This innovation arrives at a time when global momentum around millets is rising due to their climate resilience and high nutritional value.
Finger millet, ranked third among millets after sorghum and pearl millet, holds a crucial place in public nutrition schemes and school feeding programs across India and parts of Africa. Despite this, it has historically received limited scientific attention.
ICRISAT’s Rapid-Ragi protocol changes that narrative, offering a fast, cost-effective, and accessible method to speed up breeding of high-yielding, nutrient-dense, and climate-resilient varieties.
“This is a milestone for the global scientific community,” said Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICRISAT. “Rapid-Ragi represents our third open-access speed breeding protocol, following successful models in chickpea and pigeonpea.”
Unlike its predecessors which relied heavily on artificial lighting and complex photoperiod setups, Rapid-Ragi uses primarily natural light, supplemented with minimal artificial support. This lowers both cost and complexity, making it easier for researchers and agriculture institutes, particularly in developing regions, to adopt and scale.
“From the start, we focused on creating a protocol that is not only fast but also practical and scalable,” said Dr Sean Mayes, Global Research Program Director for Accelerated Crop Improvement.
The development is particularly significant for neglected and underutilized crops (NUCs), which often fall behind major cereals like rice, wheat, and maize in terms of research funding and innovation.
“This protocol is a game-changer for small millets,” said Dr Stanford Blade, Deputy Director General – Research and Innovation at ICRISAT. “It provides the tools needed to uplift crops critical to nutrition and sustainability in the world’s driest zones.”
Lead scientist Dr Sobhan Sajja, who spearheaded the protocol, revealed that early trials using this model for foxtail, proso, barnyard, little, and kodo millets have shown promising results. He emphasized the open-access nature of the protocol, which will empower researchers globally to accelerate breeding programs and develop resilient crops.
The announcement also builds on international milestones, such as India’s declaration of 2018 as the National Year of Millets and the UN’s designation of 2023 as the International Year of Millets, reflecting growing recognition of their role in sustainable food systems.
With climate change intensifying food insecurity across Asia and Africa, the ability to develop improved crop varieties faster is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Rapid-Ragi’s launch signifies a giant step forward in global food resilience, especially for smallholder farmers and dryland communities who depend on hardy millets.
As the protocol is rolled out to research centers and agri-institutes worldwide, it is expected to play a key role in shaping next-generation agricultural strategies—from the lab to the field, and ultimately, to the plate.
