January 2, 2022
This project employs tools of biotechnology, breeding, and agronomy to unleash the potential of the sorghum crop for needy farmers. The project team is developing a core-set of sorghum germplasm population to characterize the inherent variability through genotyping by sequencing. The team is also phenotyping valuable traits under target environments and treating data with appropriate bioinformatics and statistical procedures to identify useful allelic variations for drought and Striga resistance.
January 10, 2022
Home to one of the harshest cropping environments in the world, the Sahel region of Africa hosts poor, sandy soils, low and erratic rainfall, and excessive soil surface temperatures. Sahelian farmers also often have limited space for cropping, very low incomes and restricted access to inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides. This combination of limitations makes it difficult for farmers to subsist on their cropping operations or produce enough to sell their crops for income.
January 11, 2022
Anthracnose is a widespread disease caused by a fungus that can have devastating effects on sorghum production. It occurs in numerous locations around the world, and is especially prevalent in areas of high humidity, including many regions in Africa and the southern United States. Smallholder farmers in Ethiopia and other regions often experience limited access to inputs and fungicide treatment options, leaving them especially vulnerable to anthracnose.
January 13, 2022
Farmers around the world can follow prescribed agronomic practices to a tee, but when they are up against nature, sometimes they need a step up from technology. The USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet, SMIL, has discovered how to help Ethiopian farmers increase sorghum viability and yields.
March 31, 2022
The Sahel region of Africa is one of the harshest cropping environments in the world. Sahelian farmers have limited resources, income and access to inputs such as fertilizer and water. This makes the region ideal to introduce new technology advancements to help smallholder farmers with planting techniques to increase the pearl millet crop yield rate. The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet (SMIL) at Kansas State University began a research project in 2013 to do just that. The project, Seed Balls - Enhancing the Yield Effect in Pearl Millet and Sorghum and Disseminating the Technology in West Africa, has developed seed ball technology to increase yield by up to 40%, provide opportunities for entrepreneurs (especially women) and increase income for smallholder farmers.
August 26, 2022
Sorghum is grown in vast quantities worldwide, but there is significant room for improvement regarding protein digestibility and nutritional value. This opportunity for growth is where the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet (SMIL) demonstrates progress.
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.
November 22, 2022
While Ethiopian sorghum has played a crucial role in sorghum traits globally, the crop needs a viable, sustainable commercial seed system for producer reliability and performance. A sustainable seed system provides greater consistency and reliability, allows for higher-quality production at a higher price and ultimately leverages the crop’s potential.
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.