

In West and Central Africa, there is limited development of hybrid sorghum varieties and those that do exist often don’t reach or meet the needs and preferences of smallholder farmers. Over the past decade in Mali, scientists at ICRISAT and the national Institute of Rural Economy have developed hybrid sorghum varieties, based on West African guinea-race landraces and guinea-caudatum interracial breeding lines. Along with improved and local sorghum varieties, these hybrids are being produced for seed and marketed by local cooperatives. The potential improved yields from the hybrids present an opportunity to growers but there are also many barriers to their uptake.