Dear all,

I have read the thread regarding Japanese millet and use of millets in Japan with much interest. I am not an expert on the subject but recently I have done some looking around and my understanding was that Japan mostly abandoned millets production during the Edo period (1603-1867) when the shogun used rice as the means for “tax payment” and basically forced the country to produce rice.

Tomorrow we will have a webinar on the historical aspects of millets where Prof. Mikio Kimata, who is an expert on millets will be speaking about the history and use of millets in Japan. I hope many of you would be able to attend.  

FYI we are establishing a global millets community. It is on the Dgroups platform. I hope you can take part in that group also. Please go to https://dgroups.org/fao/millets

If you have never been part of a Dgroup community, you will have to register.

Best regards

Makiko Taguchi

Agricultural Officer

Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy       

Email: makiko.taguchi@fao.org

Web: https://www.fao.org/plant-production-protection/en