RA 00048.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

Foreword
In October 1971 in Hyderabad, India an international s y m p o s i u m on sorghum w a s
held w h i c h examined and reviewed the then scientific, production, and nutritional
k n o w l e d g e of sorghum as a crop and as a human food.
A l m o s t exactly 10 years later, ICRISAT hosted Sorghum in the E i g h t i e s — a n
international s y m p o s i u m sponsored by USAID Title XII Collaborative Research
Support Program on Sorghum and Pearl Millet (INTSORMIL); the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR); and the International Crops Research Institute for
the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
It w a s felt by the organizers that because so m u c h knowledge and information
had been attained in the intervening 10 years, scientists should m e e t again.
Consequently, 245 scientists from 37 countries attended the Symposium f r o m 2
to 7 N o v e m b e r 1981 at ICRISAT Center near Hyderabad. They examined and
evaluated the achievements made in the last decade, discussed the current
problems, and made recommendations for future research and other activities.
The participants s h o w e d a critical awareness of sorghum's role as an important
cereal for food, feed, construction material, and fuel in the developed and the
developing countries. On a w o r l d production and utilization basis, sorghum ranks
fifth after w h e a t , rice, maize and barley. About 9 0 % of the total production and
9 0 % of the harvested area are located in 12 countries in Asia, the Americas,
Africa, and Oceania.
S o r g h u m is one of the main staple food grains of the world's poorest people,
particularly in the semi-arid tropics (SAT). Over 5 5 % of world sorghum production
is in the SAT. Of the total SAT production, Asia and Africa contribute about 6 5 % ,
of w h i c h 3 4 % is harvested in India. Matters of considerable concern are that
s o r g h u m production is growing more slowly than population and that the food
situation in parts of Africa is rapidly deteriorating.
Situations such as these clearly indicate that more socioeconomic factors will
need to be taken into account to guide and influence the direction of future
scientific research on sorghum. The deliberations and discussions during the
S y m p o s i u m on factors related to s o rghum and its environment, including climate,
insects, fungi, and birds; the genetic resources; breeding for improvement;
production technology; food quality and utilization; and the socioeconomic issues
s h o w e d that many studies will still have to be made to further unravel the
potentialities of this cereal. Sharp notice has been taken of research fields w h e r e
there has been little progress in the last 10 years.
A main value of the S y m p o s i u m has been to determine w o r k priorities for
ICRISAT and the national programs in the SAT, and to emphasize the need for
continued cooperation w i t h other institutions. Sorghum in the Eighties has been a
rewarding S y m p o s i u m w h i c h has not lost sight of the basic objective to increase
the yield and production of better sorghum to feed people.
I believe that the Proceedings of Sorghum in the Eighties will be a prominent
benchmark for our future studies and perspectives on sorghum in the next
decade.
L.D. Swindale
Director General
VII