India, Aug. 1 -- Western Odisha has long learnt to live with uncertainty.

Nuapada district, once part of the undivided Kalahandi district and bordering Chhattisgarh, is among Odisha's most drought-prone regions. Much of its agriculture depends on the monsoon, while irrigation remains limited, especially in the uplands where many smallholder and Adivasi communities cultivate their fields. Recurrent droughts, crop failures and agrarian distress have shaped both livelihoods and local memory for generations.

In this dry landscape grows Gurji, a traditional landrace of little millet (Panicum sumatrense). The tiny grain matures early, requires very little water and thrives on poor, rocky uplands where paddy often fails. Rich in fibre and mine...