The project focused on building capacity for sustainable agriculture among rural communities in Cinzana and Katiena in Mali.
Goals and objectives
- Widen distribution networks for new millet seed varieties to smallholder farmers.
- Initiate stakeholder education programs on adoption of new seed and on improved crop management.
- Build and operate a center of excellence in crop breeding.
- Address the challenge of producing a sustainable domestic food supply.
- Develop and disseminate to farmers new millet, sorghum, and cowpea varieties.
- Evaluate new cropping practices producing conservation of water and soil.
- Build nutrition education programs.
- Create and support research information networks.
Key achievements of the research project
- Built facilities for conservation of local germplasm.
- Developed new varieties of millet tolerant to downey mildew and earworm, new sorghum tolerant to charcolrot and Striga, and new cowpea varieties resistant to Striga, improving on-farm yields by 30% to 100%.
- Initiated pilot systems for disseminating improved seeds and agronomic technologies to smallholder farmers.
- Facilitated North-South technology transfer on seed treatment.
- Promoted South-South exchange among Sahel millet crop breeders.