Exploring finger millet as an underutilised African indigenous grain crop for functional food development, sustainable nutrition, and health

Introduction Food insecurity and malnutrition remain major challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa, driven by climate change and agricultural systems that rely heavily on a few staple crops, including maize, rice, and wheat. The prioritisation of these crops during the Green Revolution has contributed to the neglect of nutrient-rich indigenous grains. Finger millet ( Eleusine coracana ), an indigenous African cereal, has attracted increasing attention because of its exceptional nutritional composition, climate resilience, and potential for functional food development. This review evaluated the role of finger millet in promoting sustainable nutrition, health, and food security. Methods A semi-systematic narrative review was conducted following Snyder’s review framework and guided by PRISMA principles for literature identification and screening. Literature published between March 2025 and April 2026 was retrieved from Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, JSTOR, and ResearchGate using predefined search terms related to finger millet, indigenous grains, nutrition, food security, and functional foods amongst others. An initial 245 articles were identified; after removing 86 duplicates and excluding 12 studies during screening, 147 peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria and were qualitatively synthesised. Results The reviewed evidence demonstrates that finger millet is rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, dietary fibre, and bioactive phytochemicals with antioxidant properties. The crop exhibits excellent drought tolerance and adapts well to marginal environments, making it suitable for climate-resilient agriculture. Finger millet is widely utilised in traditional foods, weaning products, fermented beverages, livestock feed, and value-added products including flour, bakery products, and noodles. However, its wider adoption is constrained by labour-intensive production and post-harvest processing, lower yields than major cereals, pest and weed infestations, limited mechanisation, weak market integration, and inadequate research investment. Discussion Finger millet represents a promising underutilised indigenous grain for functional food development, sustainable nutrition, and climate-resilient food systems. Addressing production constraints through improved breeding, mechanisation, research investment, and value-chain development could substantially enhance its contribution to dietary diversification, improved public health, and sustainable food and nutrition security.