International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has introduced the world’s first speed breeding protocol for finger millet, a breakthrough that could significantly enhance crop research and food security across Asia and Africa. Named ‘Rapid-Ragi’, the protocol reduces the crop’s typical growing cycle from 100–135 days to just 68–85 days, enabling up to five generations per year, far exceeding the traditional one or two cycles achieved in open fields.
The innovation is being recognized as a breakthrough in millet research, particularly as global interest in the nutritional benefits of millets continues to grow. Finger millet, the third most important millet after sorghum and pearl millet, plays a key role in public nutrition schemes and school feeding programs. The announcement comes amid ongoing efforts to promote millets globally, following India’s declaration of 2018 as the National Year of Millets and the United Nations’ recognition of 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
Commenting on the development, ICRISAT Director General Dr Himanshu Pathak said this marks the institute’s third open-access speed breeding protocol, following similar breakthroughs in chickpea and pigeonpea. He described it as a “milestone for the global scientific community” that will accelerate the breeding of high-yielding, climate-resilient, and nutrient-rich crop varieties.
Unlike the protocols for chickpea and pigeonpea, which rely on complex light conditions, the finger millet protocol has been designed to function primarily with natural light, requiring only minimal artificial support. This makes it both simpler and more cost-effective. Dr Sean Mayes, Global Research Program Director for Accelerated Crop Improvement at ICRISAT, noted that the team focused not only on speeding up the growth cycle but also on ensuring the method remains practical and scalable.
ICRISAT’s Deputy Director General–Research and Innovation, Dr Stanford Blade, highlighted the importance of this development for neglected and underutilized crops (NUCs), which often receive less research attention due to the global focus on major cereals like rice, wheat, and maize.
Lead scientist Dr Sobhan Sajja emphasized that this is the first-ever speed breeding protocol developed for small millets. He added that ICRISAT is now working to adapt the model for other small millets such as foxtail, proso, barnyard, little, and kodo millets.
With its open-access availability, the Rapid-Ragi protocol provides researchers worldwide with a powerful tool to build more resilient, nutritious, and sustainable food systems. Early trials with other millets based on this protocol have already shown encouraging results.
