Kenya plans to introduce an improved variety of sorghum in 2016 that has a 20 per cent more yield compared to conventional breeds, officials have confirmed.

Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Principal Investigator for Sorghum David Karanja told Xinhua in Nairobi that field trials will be concluded by February 2015.

"The national performance studies will then be conducted for one year and the goal is for the improved variety to be released in 2016," Karanja said on the sidelines of the Sorghum Value Chain Stakeholders meeting.

The most common sorghum variety in Kenya is the Gadam variety.

The trials are being carried out under the Agricultural Productivity Research Project.

The EU and Kenya government are financing the project at a total cost of 8 million Euros.

The existing sorghum variety produces up to 1,800 kilogrammes per acre.

The improved variety will be more drought tolerant compared to the common breeds.

Sorghum is used for making beer, cakes, animal feeds and paraffin fuel.

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Principal Secretary Sicily Kariuki said the research in Kenya has shown that sorghum has the potential to end severe food insecurity in arid and semi arid areas due to its tolerance to drought and ability to thrive under a wide range of soils.

Sorghum is a dual purpose crop as the grain and stem are highly valued outputs.

It is also a staple food crop for many low income households

"Sorghum is typically grown by small scale, resource poor farmers and mainly for home consumption," she said.

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Director of Agriculture Johnson Waithaka said the government allocates 1.6 million U.S. dollars annually for the promotion of traditional high value crops such as sorghum.

Data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization indicates that Kenya’s sorghum production reduced by 20 percent in 2013.

This coincided with the implementation of 50 percent excise duty on beer made from sorghum.

"The government should explore options for up scaling use of sorghum in feed and food manufacturing in order to provide farmers with a ready market," Opiyo said.

He said small scale farmers are often trapped in poverty, because they sell their commodities without any value addition.

"Sorghum is one of the crops that can be processed to produce many products," he said.

Opiyo said efforts by the government and other stakeholders to promote sorghum production was not based only on the desire for equity or concern about the welfare of those producing insufficient food, but also its contribution to national economic growth.

"Therefore policies and investment strategies should be designed to exploit the competitive advantages of poor people living in marginal areas in the production of sorghum and ensure agricultural growth with favorable marketing incentives in the agro-processing sector," he said.
 

Source: Xinhua