Millets as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food, are widely grown around the world, and are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses. They are an important crop, with 97% of millet production, in the semiarid tropics of Asia and Africa (especially in India, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger). Due to its productivity and short growing season under dry, high-temperature conditions, Millet crop is favored in these regions.

To many parts of the world, Millets are indigenous. Pearl Millet is the most widely grown millet, which is an important crop in India and parts of Africa, besides the other important crop species such as Finger millet, and foxtail millet etc.

Millets have a similar nutrient content to other major cereals, are small-grained and highly tolerant of drought and other extreme weather conditions.