Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement (HOPE) of Sorghum and Millets
The HOPE project spanning 11 countries focused on developing improved varieties and crop management practices to help smallholder farmers increase productivity under harsh, dry production environments in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Eastern and Southern Africa
83% adoption rate of improved sorghum cultivars in Ethiopia
45% yield advantage from improved varieties by using microdosing and tied ridges
5 sorghum cultivars and 7 finger millet varieties were released by partners in Ethiopia
60% sorghum productivity gain in Eritrea from the package of improved practices
In Kenya, finger millet variety U-15 was released by a partner and 2 sorghum cultivars were released by partners in South Sudan
17% productivity gains were registered in finger millet in Tanzania
25 finger millet lines with drought potential were selected for regional trial and evaluation in Uganda.
West and Central Africa
129% productivity gains in sorghum and 50% in pearl millet from the package of improved practices in Mali
4000 farmers were involved in Integrated Striga and soil fertility/water management Farmer Field Schools
13 farmer organizations were trained in seed marketing in Burkina Faso
In Niger, pearl millet varieties ICRI-Tabi, Mil de Siaka and ICMV-IS 89305 were selected for wider dissemination and testing
Nigeria reported 21% productivity gains from package of improved practices in sorghum and 150% productivity gains from package of improved practices in pearl millet.
- 49 cultivars released by the project countries (25 sorghum; 13 pearl millet; and 11 finger millet)
- 183,421 farm households reached with new production technologies
- 8,579 tons of seed produced under the program (6,251 tons of sorghum; 2,084 tons of pearl millet; and 244 tons of finger millet)
- 178,447 mini-packs of seed distributed initially at no cost, but at the beginning of the second year a partial cost recovery approach was implemented. The packs were sold to farmers primarily through field days, seed-producing farmers and local agro-dealers
- 50 researchers received advanced degree training with HOPE support (15 PhD and 35 MSc degrees completed)
- 3,280 National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) scientists took part in HOPE-sponsored short courses
South Asia
7 pearl millet cultivars released by partners in India (3 each in the states of Rajasthan and Haryana and 1 in Gujarat)
220 kg of breeder seed of preferred open pollinated varieties were produced
Seeds of 4 released sorghum varieties were distributed for cultivation over 10,180 hectares, involving 25,200 Indian farmers
Farmer-preferred pearl millet hybrids identified for dissemination: 9 for Rajasthan, 4 for Gujarat and 4 for Haryana
The HOPE Project was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and was carried out by 50 partners led by ICRISAT
