Category:Sorghum

By Dr. Ousmane Youm Regional Co-ordinator International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

Sorghum and pearl millet are staple food crops across the sahelian agro-ecological belt of West and Central Africa and are grown by millions of resource-poor, mainly subsistence, farmers. Both crops are genetically adapted to the harsh drought-prone sahelian environment and are capable of producing grain and fodder where few other crops can even survive. Besides providing food for humans and feed for livestock, sorghum and millet stems are used for a wide range of purposes, including: the construction of walls, fences and thatches; and production of brooms, mats, baskets, fish-traps, sun shades, etc. They are also used as fuel and as a soil additive to improve its fertility. Some varieties of sorghum can be “malted” to produce a nutritious foodstuff for infants and for use in bakery products. Malted sorghum can be also used in small-scale traditional beer production, an important income-earning activity for village women.

Population pressure and declining soil fertility in the Sahel is having a negative impact on sorghum and millet production. Higher productivity, pest resistance and better grain quality is needed. Some improved varieties exist but their use is very limited as they are either unknown to the farmers or their seeds are unavailable. In some countries, especially Ghana and Nigeria, surplus sorghum available, over and above family food requirements is used for malting and processing. In such circumstances, “dual purpose” sorghum varieties, suitable for both food and malting, could be grown; and surplus grain could be sold for malting to generate cash income. The use of locally-produced sorghum-malt is developing quickly in both Ghana and Nigeria but processors find it difficult to obtain reliable quantities of suitable grain.