______________________________From Orphan Crop to Pacesetter

With support from the Asian Development Bank, ICRISAT scientists have been able to work with Sri Lankan NARS  to design and manufacture a small, portable, medium-volume (40 kg h-1) dehulling mill

(Nimal Jayantha and Saxena 1998). (Dehulling removes the seed coat, and splits the grains into fragments known as dhal for faster cooking). A high-quality video was locally produced to spread awareness of this Project. Since it is smallholder- oriented, African partners have suggested that modifications of this same technology could hold considerable promise for their continent. Under the auspices of the African Development Bank-sponsored Pigeonpea Improvement Project described later, ICRISAT is sharing the technology with partners in southern and eastern Africa, including the development of local manufacturing sources. Trans-continental sharing of the traditional Indian household pulse-dehulling implement, known as the chakki, is also being sponsored by the Project.

Given the important role of women in processing and marketing of pigeonpea, ICRISAT developed participatory methods