Zambia's efforts to promote countrywide production of sorghum is backed by a number of apropos factors. It is not only an adaptive response to the climate change challenge, but also a dietary diversity improvement measure, to achieve food and nutrition security. Further, improved sorghum...

Improving sorghum adoption rate by developing adapted varieties that meet end-user preferences is a major challenge in West Africa. In this study, a participatory rural appraisal was undertaken to identify the main sorghum production constraints, farmers’ preferred traits and their perceptions...

Known in the literature as underutilized, neglected or orphan crops, these crops have been cited as having the potential to improve food and nutritional security. The literature also highlights however that consumers in developing countries are increasingly abandoning their traditional diets...

It is understood that the grain market pulls the seed market. The problem of low quality prompted failure of traders and processors to purchase most of the farmers’ grain to subsequently drive the use of improved variety seed. The aim of this study is to identify drivers that persuade farmers...

The evolution of research in the field of sorghum for grains has led to the creation of new hybrids with higher production potential and resistance to various diseases and pests. Sorghum cultivation technology is similar to that of corn. Sorghum has an explosive emergence at higher temperatures,...

How would climate change affect India’s agriculture which accounts for sixty percent of employment? We study the impact of climate change on the level and variability of yields of rice (India’s major food crop) and two key millet crops (sorghum and pearl millet), using an all India district...

The study examined the socioeconomic characteristics and challenges faced by millet and sorghum value chain actors in Jigawa State Nigeria. Two LGAs were randomly selected from each of the three senatorial zones in the state and 300 structured questionnaires were administered, 50 per LGA. There...

As contract farming is a useful arrangement that integrates smallholder farmers in the agricultural value chain in developing countries, it is essential for agricultural policies focusing on rural development to implement and promote such initiatives. However, as sorghum farmers are reluctant to...

Low adoption of agricultural technology is among the main reasons for low farm productivity and high incidence of poverty and food insecurity in sub-Saharan countries including Tanzania. In this study, we examine the factors affecting adoption of improved sorghum varieties using data from 822...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the market structure and value chain of pearl millet grain and fodder in India. There is a decline in demand for human consumption, with an increase in demand for non-food uses like cattle and poultry feed, raw material for starch and breweries...

Gadam sorghum has in the recent past been promoted by various operators through a Public-Private-Partnership. Taking advantage of this, the largest brewing establishment in Kenya developed a beverage targeted for the low-end market in an effort to stem the problems associated with illicit...

Global demand for food and agricultural products is on the rise. There is hence the need to increase production to meet this growing demand and smallholders will play a significant role. One strategy for smallholders to sustainably increase agricultural production is the use of modern...

Adoption rates of improved or modern varieties (MV) of sorghum in eastern Ethiopia are generally low. Although these MV may represent an effective means of coping with droughts, given their early maturing traits, landraces could prove to be more drought‐tolerant and better adapted to marginal...

This book examines the challenges faced by farmers trying to maintain crop biodiversity in developing and transitional economies. Using a collection of empirical case studies of farmers and crop scientists across a range of agricultural economies and income levels, it presents economic tools and...

In Sub-Sahara Africa, adoption rates of improved crop varieties remain relatively low, which is partly due to farmers’ limited access to information. In smallholder settings, information often spreads through informal networks. Better understanding of such networks could potentially help to...

In recent years there have been a number of claims of “biopiracy” where a company seeks patent coverage over inventions, which others feel would be an unjust “appropriation” of traditional or sacred knowledge. The SbMATE patent which was filed in 2007 (and granted in the US in 2009),...

This study was designed to test and identify the impact of improved seeds on small farmers' productivity, income and livelihood in Bara locality. Sixty households participants were randomly selected through a field survey during 2011 for 2008/2009, 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 cropping seasons. The...

In this article we specify a model of millet prices in the three West African countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Using data obtained from USAID’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) we present a unique regional cereal price forecasting model that takes advantage of the...

The present study was conducted to check the trend analysis of area and production for Sorghum in Pakistan. The findings of the study are based on sorghum area and production by using the data from 1990 to 2011. Four Models of trend analysis were applied but most appropriate Model for trend...

Specialization and commercialization of agricultural production is seen as a key to lift small-scale farmers in developing countries out of poverty. While participation in high-value markets has been shown to be beneficial for farmers, especially the smallest and least endowed farmers are often...

Increasing agricultural productivity through the dissemination of improved cropping practices remains one of the biggest challenges of this century. A considerable amount of literature is dedicated to the adoption of improved cropping practices among smallholder farmers in developing countries....