Primary Processing

Setting the context

There is a lack of affordable and efficient technologies for community level primary processing of the millets. Existing facilities utilise Paddy processing machines with minimal modifications to process millets leading to poor performance

Millets are different from Paddy and Wheat and so should be the machines for their primary processing. Realising the potential for millets, big players in the grain milling industry have entered the market, without much R&D inputs.

Earth 360 Pvt Ventures develops Scalable, Efficient and Affordable Primary Processing Technologies to Enable Community Level Millet Processing.

This will enable :

Grading allows us to remove the smaller, not full formed, and immature grains. It also allows us to separate out seed quality grains from within the lot providing a selection and thereby improving the seed quality.

There are two grain characteristics that are used to grade grains – size and density. We use an eccentric or vibrating grader to achieve size grading and a destoner to achieve density grading. As one would expect, grading and cleaning go hand in hand – as we remove the extremes of the size and density distribution, we remove material other than grains (also referred to sometimes as MOTG). (source: https://themillet.org/)

Resources from Experts

Here's a resource on opportunities in millet processing under the ODOP by PMFME uploaded by NIFTEM Thanjavur
Short video series on millet processing here (by Dwiji Guru)
Farm Easy (a collective of Engineers and entrepreneurs), was initiated by The Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN). Farm Easy has succeeded in developing a millet mixie that can be used for processing minor millets at the household level or as a nano enterprise. As a test run a few such millet mixies were supplied to villages in the APCNF cluster like Bodlanka in East Godavari for processing Little millet and Foxtail Millet in January 2020. The rate of millet rice consumption among the above habitats increased significantly due to reduced drudgery in millet processing. The increase in household consumption has resulted in increased millet acreage in the area. It has also turned women operating these mixies into micro-entrepreneurs who provide services for a fee. (Watch a video showcasing this work here) Farm easy supplies modified mixies along with 3 sieves for INRs.3200/unit. RythuSadikara Samstha is planning to upscale the millet microentrepreneur model in all the APCNF resource villages to enhance millet consumption at the household level. FarmEasy also sells weeders, sprayers, sieves in addition to the mixie here.
Here's a video series on small millet processing by Dhan Foundation
Here's a compilation of end to end resources required for Bajra Processing along with relevant schemes (like PMFME) by Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
A web portal having link to videos of different millet processing and value addition technologies by CFTRI
A training manual in English for Community scale Small Millet Processing, having info on assessing quality, steps involved, tools and machine, pre and post hulling, pest management and basic repair by Dhan Foundation
An english brochure on millets production, processing and value addition machinery giving info on machinery for various steps in value chain, value added products and address of manufacturers by North Region Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Hisar, Haryana
A national seminar presentation ppt on processing and value addition of small millets focusing on primary processing technologies by Dr V. Palanimuthu, Research Engineer & University Head AICRP (PHET), GKVK University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore
A english brochure about Millet Processing: Innovative Technologies containing information about primary and secondary processing, baked products by researchers from CIPHET
Millet and Sorghum Technology Toolkit Catalogue giving details of 11 technologies for sorghum and millets in Sub-Saharan Africa by TAAT Clearinghouse, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and partners

For CSOs/ Entrepreneurs

Here's a questionnaire for an entrepreneur looking to set up a community-scale millet processing unit by Dwiji Guru
How to set up a small scale millet processing unit by Dhan Foundation in English & Tamil
What are the types of machines required in a small scale millet processing unit ?
How can I train the operators of a small scale millet processing unit ?