Constraints to Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Production and Farmers’ Approaches to Striga hermonthica Management in Burkina Faso

Rouamba, A.; Shimelis, Hussein; Drabo, Issa; Laing, Mark; Gangashetty, Prakash; Mathew, Isack; Mrema, Emmanuel; Shayanowako, Admire

doi:10.3390/su13158460

Cited by 27 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Plant breeders must understand farmers' situations and choices to design appropriate varieties to meet their needs. Several studies have used the PRA approach to gain insight into farmer production systems and varietal choices to prioritize breeding objectives, including in tef [37], sorghum [38], wheat [39]), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br) [40] and finger millet [41]. For example, drought is the major production constraint of finger millet in Eastern Uganda, according to Owere et al [24], and in sorghum production in Ethiopia [42,43].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finger Millet Production in Ethiopia: Opportunities, Problem Diagnosis, Key Challenges and Recommendations for Breeding

et al. 2021

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Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is a highly nutritious crop, predominantly grown in the semi-arid tropics of the world. Finger millet has a niche market opportunity due to its human health benefits and being rich in calcium, iron and dietary fiber and gluten-free. Ethiopia is the center of the genetic diversity of the crop. However, the productivity of finger millet in the country is low (<2.4 tons ha−1) compared with its potential yield (6 tons ha−1). The yield gap in Ethiopia is due to a range of biotic and abiotic stresses and socio-economic constraints that are yet to be systemically documented and prioritized to guide future production and improved variety development and release. The objective of this study was to document finger millet production opportunities, constraints and farmer-preferred traits in Ethiopia as a guide to variety design in improvement programs. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) study was undertaken in six selected districts of the Southern Nation Nationalities People Region (SNNPR) and Oromia Region in Ethiopia. Data were collected from 240 and 180 participant farmers through a semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussion, respectively. Finger millet was the most important crop in the study areas grown mainly for a combination of uses, including for food, feed and cash (reported by 38.8% of respondent farmers), food and feed (14.5%), food and cash (13.7%), food (11.5%) and food, cash, feed and construction material (9.7%). Hand weeding was used by 59.2% of the respondent farmers, followed by hand weeding and chemical herbicides (40.8%). Finger millet was mainly planted as a sole crop (reported by 97.0% respondents), mixed (1.7%) and sole and mixed (1.3%). About 75.6% of respondent farmers only practiced finger millet rotation with other crops. Respondent farmers indicated their source of fresh seed was from the Bureau of Agriculture (49.1%), farmer-to-farmer seed exchange (22.1%), own saved seed (7.5%), local producers (7.5%), research institutions (5.8%), unknown sources (4.1%), local market (3.5%) and cooperatives (0.42%). The total cost of finger millet production per hectare was calculated at 1249 USD with a total income of 2139 USD/ha, making a benefit to cost ratio of 1.71:1.00 and indicating the relatively low yield gains using the currently grown varieties. The main constraints to finger millet production in the study areas were drought stress (reported by 41.3% respondents), lack of improved varieties (12.9%), lack of financial resources (11.3%), small land holdings (10.8%), limited access to seed (10.0%), a shortage of fertilizers (5.4%), poor soil fertility (4.6%), shortage of draught power (1.3%), labour shortages (1.3%) and high labour costs (1.3%). The most important farmer-preferred traits in a finger millet variety were high grain yield, compact head shape, ‘enjera’-making quality, high marketability and early maturity, resolved through principal component analysis. The above-mentioned production constraints and farmer-preferred traits are strategic drivers to enhance finger millet productivity and need to be incorporated into Ethiopia’s finger millet breeding and technology development.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finger Millet Production in Ethiopia: Opportunities, Problem Diagnosis, Key Challenges and Recommendations for Breeding

et al. 2021

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“…Furthermore, the concept of the green revolution, promotion and adoption of alternate cereals such as hybrid maize varieties, access to credit, government support on maize prices and marketing subsidies also contributed to the decline in production of millets in the region [6]. Other challenges include the menace of quelea birds, drudgery and rising labour costs in production, emergence of fast foods and changing consumer preferences, widespread biotic stresses including striga infestation [7], diseases such as blast and downy mildew [7] and lack of remunerative market prices. Intertwined with tradition and culture, millets in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere nonetheless hold great promise to contribute to food security, revitalize and diversify diets, improve farmer livelihoods, adaptation to marginal soil conditions and climate resilience.…”

Section: Why Millets?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Millets: Traditional “Poor Man’s” Crop or Future Smart Nutri-Cereals?

Bombom¹,

Kaweesi²,

Walugembe³

et al. 2024

Millets - Rediscover Ancient Grains

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Millets represent a diverse group of cereal crops of significance to sub-Saharan Africa and globally. However, they remain a set of crops with limited attention and priority paid to them with paucity of information on their genetic diversity and sustainable use. Existing knowledge on millets with respect to cultivation, health, and nutritional benefits, and contribution to sustainable environmental management, and use is mainly attributed to traditional indigenous knowledge held by rural folks in different regions of the continent. The emergence of other cereal staples, however, led to millets losing their place as an important crop limiting their use to a “famine” crop with production occurring on smallholdings among the marginalized poor. This threatens interest, patronage, conservation and use to sustainably and fully exploit the potential of millets for the benefit of society. Intertwined with tradition and culture, millets in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere nonetheless hold great promise to contribute to food security, revitalize and diversify diets, improve farmer livelihoods, resilience, and adaptation to climate change. This chapter discusses the importance of millets, challenges to production, contribution to nutrition and health, traditional knowledge and products, novel and non-traditional products, contribution to resilience and climate change, and diversity of available genetic resources.

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“…The area under cultivation for indigenous crops grown in Africa is low compared to maize, rice, and wheat. The combined area under millet (pearl millet, finger millet) is 10 million hectares, legumes (chick pea, pigeon pea, groundnuts, soya beans, common beans, and cowpea) is 36 million ha compared to maize, rice, and wheat which is 43, 10.2, and 10 million ha, respectively (Arouna et al, 2021;Cairns et al, 2021;Ojiewo et al, 2018;Rouamba et al, 2021).…”

Section: Legumementioning

confidence: 99%

Reorienting research investments toward under‐researched crops for sustainable food systems

Munialo,

Siddique,

Barker

et al. 2024

Food and Energy Security

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The dominance of a few staple crops (maize, rice, and wheat) in most agricultural systems hampers the application of interventions to improve food security and nutrition. Research and development attention has focused on improving the production and utilization of these crops, leaving other crops under‐researched and underutilized. Subsequently, there have been high malnutrition rates due to poor diet diversity, yet there are “opportunity crops” that remain under researched. The opportunity crops can unlock solutions to food insecurity, malnutrition, a lack of biodiversity, and indeed poor climate adaptation. The study explored diversification in agricultural systems to analyze whether reorientation of research investment to include under‐researched crops can increase nutrient gain and enhance dietary diversity. Research outputs benchmarked as the number of publications from three leading African universities, Nairobi, Pretoria, and Ghana, were related to crop diversity and nutrition of crops in five clusters: cereals, vegetables, legumes, roots and tubers, and nuts. The findings show that maize was the predominantly researched crop across the three institutions. Low research outputs were observed for pearl millet, finger millet, and yam across the three institutions: amaranth and nightshade (Pretoria), sweet potatoes (Pretoria and Ghana), Marama bean (Nairobi), and soya bean (Nairobi and Ghana). There was nutrient gain across all five clusters, particularly from under‐researched indigenous crops such as finger millet, amaranth, nightshade, yam, sweet potatoes, Marama bean, and soybean. Nutrient gain was contributed more by cereals and root and tuber crops from Pretoria, vegetables and nuts (Ghana), as well as legumes (Nairobi). The findings demonstrate that incorporating research on the least researched crops with successful integration of other research and development initiatives (policy and dissemination) can increase nutrition and improve dietary diversity. The nutrient gain will positively affect food security and nutrition, contributing to the achievement of Africa Agenda 2063, the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, and reducing food imports. The findings can inform research investment and decision across different institutions within the African continent. Research investment targeting crops such as finger millet, amaranthus, sweet potatoes, soya beans, and cashew nuts is needed considering the nutritional contribution, climate change adaptability, market potential, and biodiversity contribution. Further analysis should explore production, socio‐economic (marketability and income generation), and environmental gains (adaptive ability to climate change) for specific crops. The development of frameworks to guide the analysis of the nature and scope of factors affecting the contribution of these crops to food security and nutrition, as well as research on specific crops considering geographic distribution and institutional involvement, is also needed.

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Constraints to Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Production and Farmers’ Approaches to Striga hermonthica Management in Burkina Faso

Cited by 27 publications

References 15 publications

Finger Millet Production in Ethiopia: Opportunities, Problem Diagnosis, Key Challenges and Recommendations for Breeding

Finger Millet Production in Ethiopia: Opportunities, Problem Diagnosis, Key Challenges and Recommendations for Breeding

Millets: Traditional “Poor Man’s” Crop or Future Smart Nutri-Cereals?

Reorienting research investments toward under‐researched crops for sustainable food systems

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