About NAMA

Frequently asked questions

1. What is NAMA? North American Millets Alliance is a social-benefit (non-profit) initiative. It is dedicated to promoting millets as resilient crops and nutritious foods in the US and its neighbors, through public education and networking. At this time, NAMA is not actively pursuing incorporation.

NAMA has been described as a “neutral” party, as it advocates for millets in general, as well as the range of sectors and organizations working on or with one or more of the millets.

2. Who is NAMA? The initiative is managed collaboratively by Joni Kindwall-Moore, Don Osborn, and Gary Wietgrefe. They are currently contributing their time on a volunteer / pro-bono basis, and are joined by other millets advocates in periodic online meetings.

3. When was NAMA created? The first discussions that led to the founding of NAMA date back to autumn 2021. The current initiative was created in January 2022 by Ms. Kindwall-Moore, Dr. Osborn, and Dr. Jonathon Landeck (who retires from NAMA at the end of 2024). The declaration by the UN General Assembly in March 2021 of the International Year of Millets (IYM) for the year 2023 was the impetus for developing this initiative, but our vision is long-term.

4. Why North America? NAMA was initially conceived of as a continental effort to complement the globally-oriented IYM, which naturally focused on the major millets-producing regions in Asia and Africa. Secondly, there are clear similarities in how millets are grown and used between Canada and the US, especially; and together with Mexico, they form a common trade market.

Millets are still relatively minor food crops in North America. However, the configurations of which millets are grown for what is somewhat particular to the region, with certain millets being grown on a large area as cover crops, for animal forage, and for other purposes.

Also, this region – especially the US – represents a small but significant import market for millets grown and processed elsewhere as food. Add to that the fact that there is some significant research being done here on millets, and one can argue that North America has a unique role to play in promotion of these grains now and into the future.

5. Why “alliance”? The word alliance is used in the names of a range of organizations and associations of organizations dealing with grains, for example: Common Grain Alliance, Northeast Grainshed Alliance, Maine Grain Alliance, Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance, Kansas Wheat Alliance Inc., and Manitoba Crop Alliance. While these tend to focus on value chains and marketing, we find the alliance concept appropriate for our current focus on networking among people and organizations that work in one way or another with millets, with the object of cooperation on raising broader awareness and interest in millets as crops and food.

6. Why “millets” and not just “millet”? Without getting into the etymology, the singular form “millet” in English plays a double role – as a singular (some particular millet), or as an uncountable or “mass” noun (millets in general). However, we find that the plural “millets” clearly and unambiguously communicates the fact that we are talking about a number of different species of crops, domesticated in different regions, that we group together because of some shared characteristics (notably that most have small round grains). Also, the plural form is increasingly used in communications about these grains, such as in the name, International Year of Millets.

13. What has NAMA accomplished so far? There are several past and ongoing efforts, of which key ones are listed below:

  • Webinars about millets, including:
  • Contributed support letters for several project proposals on millets in the US
  • Partner on the International Millets Conference, 2023 (1-3 Aug. 2023, Gering, Nebraska)
  • Millet-of-the-month calendar, spotlighting one (or a few, closely related) millet(s) each month around the year
  • Joined the Indo-US Millets Initiative (with India Millets Initiative, Sorghum United, and the Dougherty Water for Food Institute at University of Nebraska)
  • Social media presence, and a specialized email list
  • Periodic online meetings concerning activities, including organization of topical groups
  • Communication with other entities on various potential initiatives
  • Millets “triangle” diagram for better understanding millets as a group across contexts

14. How is NAMA financed? NAMA is currently functioning without external funding.

Version 9.0, 29 March 2026