March 22, 2023
Over 100 individuals gathered in Niamey, Niger, for the SMIL West Africa annual meetings to discuss research, progress and challenges in the West African sorghum and pearl millet value chains. The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet (SMIL) is administered at Kansas State University and focuses on improving the adaptation and resilience of sorghum and pearl millet to the semi-arid climates of East and West Africa. After successful review meetings in Ethiopia, these review meetings focused on the West African regions, specifically Niger and Senegal.
March 2, 2023
A multidisciplinary team from Madagascar was recently in Niamey, Niger, to join the Sorghum & Millet Innovation Lab (SMIL) West Africa annual review meeting. The meeting organized by SMIL, which is managed at Kansas State University, benefited the Madagascar team with cross-exchange opportunities with National Agricultural Research Systems, farmer associations, small-scale women food processors, seed companies, and the larger SMIL research for the development community.
February 20, 2023
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet (SMIL), based at Kansas State University, and the West African Regional Center of Excellence on Improving Adaptation to Drought of the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA/CERAAS) recently released the open-access book, Crop Improvement and Adaptation in Drought-Prone Environments. Published by New Prairie Press at Kansas State University, the book is an interdisciplinary effort to identify strategic constraints and opportunities to improve the sorghum, pearl millet, cowpea, groundnut, and fonio value chains in the West African Sahel region.
January 3, 2023
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet (SMIL), based at Kansas State University, and the West African Regional Center of Excellence on Improving Adaptation to Drought of the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA/CERAAS) recently released the open-access book, Crop Improvement and Adaptation in Drought-Prone Environments. Published by New Prairie Press at Kansas State University, the book is an interdisciplinary effort to identify strategic constraints and opportunities to improve the sorghum, pearl millet, cowpea, groundnut, and fonio value chains in the West African Sahel region.
December 22, 2022
African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) hosted the Women’s Leadership and Management Course (WLMC) for women in agricultural research positions. AWARD is focused on investing in inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity in Africa through gender-responsive research and innovation.
December 22, 2022
The seedball technology is a proven success in the Sahel region of Niger, one of the world's harshest cropping environments. The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet (SMIL) at Kansas State University initiated a research project in 2013 to help smallholder farmers increase pearl millet yield through better seedling establishment. The project, Seed Balls - Enhancing the Yield Effect in Pearl Millet and Sorghum and Disseminating the Technology in West Africa, is a great success with over 6,000 farmers evaluating and adopting the innovation.
September 27, 2022
The functionality of sorghum in commercial grain-based food products through the development of highly digestible (IHD) sorghum lines has been evaluated and developed through the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet (SMIL) global research program for the last seven years.
July 28, 2022
Sorghum improvement has been a challenge in West Africa. Many programs work to meet the needs of local communities but have limited funds, staff and infrastructure. Those combined factors are what led to the beginning of the improved Sorghum Adaptation in West Africa with a Genomics-Enabled Breeding Network (SAWAGEN).