RA 00048.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

t r u e in s o m e areas, but I cannot s e e w h y it is
particularly true for s o r g h u m a n d not, for instance,
chickpeas. I suspect this has a lot to do w i t h t h e
processing and p a y a b i l i t y questions. For w h e a t ,
rice and s o m e pulses, marketing channels are also
processing channels. Thus, for a small increase in
price, t h e purchaser of m a r k e t e d w h e a t or maize
g e t s a superior p r o c e s s e d product. For s o r g h u m
t h e reverse is t h e case. There are f e w e c o n o m i e s
of scale in processing (partly because of t h e l o w
value of t h e bran) a n d t h e product is actually
inferior to that of h o m e processing.
N o w let us g e t back to t h e real point. H o w are
s o c i o e c o n o m i c factors being t a k e n into account in
guiding research o n s o r g h u m ? T h e a n s w e r s e e m s
to be that they are hardly t a k e n into account at all.
D o not g e t m e w r o n g o n this. I a m not w o r r i e d
a b o u t e c o n o m i s t s and sociologists being shortc
h a n g e d and d e n i e d their fair share of jobs. I am
w o r r i e d about m i s d i r e c t e d research.
The situation is really not encouraging in either
t h e research or t h e c r o p production areas. As
Ryan s h o w s , s o r g h u m production is g r o w i n g
s l o w e r than population in India and Africa (the
overall lesser d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r y production figures
being distorted by t h e rapid g r o w t h of
extensive cattle-feed s o r g h u m in Latin America).
Yet, in India, t h e potential for s o r g h u m is d e m o n ­
strably high in t e r m s of overall f o o d strategy
(Arakeri's paper), and in Africa t h e r e is a rapidly
deteriorating f o o d situation. H Y V s appear to have
reached a plateau of acceptability in I n d i a — a n d
have hardly m a d e any i m p a c t in Africa. That is t h e
situation o n t h e g r o u n d .
T h e situation i n s o r g h u m research s e e m s t o b e
e x e m p l i f i e d , if not typified by this c o n f e r e n c e . In
Africa, a t least, t h e t w o biggest p r o b l e m s o f
s o r g h u m g r o w i n g are Striga a n d bird p e s t s , y e t
t h e s e w e r e dealt w i t h i n only t h r e e papers.
Quantified e c o n o m i c factors a n d t h r e s h o l d s w e r e
a p r o m i n e n t feature of t h e papers f r o m U.S. a n d
Australia, b u t n o t f r o m ICRISAT, India or Africa.
Dr. Frederiksen invited us to quantify disease
p r o b l e m s , but d i d not d o s o himself. H e a n d o t h e r
speakers on p e s t s a n d diseases cataloged fascinating
p r o b l e m s and possible approaches to
solving t h e m , but d i d not give any idea of priorities
o r t h e m o s t cost-effective w a y s t o search for
solutions. A n o t h e r e x a m p l e , if it is n e e d e d , w a s
g i v e n by Dr. Frederiksen's statistics on bibliographic
references to control of s o r g h u m disease:
31 on host plant resistance, 29 on c h e m i c a l
control, a n d 7 on cultural control. Yet, for lesser
d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r y farmers, cultural control is
m a n y t i m e s m o r e relevant t h a n chemical control.
That is o n e set of p r o b l e m s , a n d it is a set w h i c h I
think is e m i n e n t l y in t h e ICRISAT constituency,
a n d o n w h i c h social scientists can give useful
a d v i c e — n o t off t h e cuff like this, but by being
incorporated into t h e research planning process.
A n o t h e r set o f p r o b l e m s relates t o w h a t t h e
f a r m e r w a n t s and needs. O n e thing h e obviously
w a n t s and n e e d s is s o r g h u m that he can process
a n d eat. y e t this received a l m o s t no attention in
t h e discussion on breeding. I k n o w that ICRISAT
has f o o d quality screening procedures, but t h e r e
is still a serious p r o b l e m of HYV grain acceptability
b o t h in India and Africa. There is no point helping
t h e farmer g r o w cattle f o o d w h e n h e w a n t s t o
m a k e porridge or beer or bread.
This is just extraordinarily important. Dr. Rooney
said "If y o u have not g o t yield stability, f o r g e t
about quality." I think this is a l m o s t t h e w r o n g
w a y round. In India, HYVs c o m m a n d a 3 0 % l o w e r
price on average than local varieties because of
this p r o b l e m . In m u c h of Africa, this p r o b l e m has
a l m o s t totally p r e v e n t e d adoption of HYVs. Yet we
have g o n e on breeding for yield a n d disease
resistance (i.e., reliability), and t h e n checking for
acceptability. Researchers have to g e t u n h o o k e d
f r o m yield i f t h e y w a n t people t o g r o w m o r e
s o r g h u m in t h e lesser d e v e l o p e d countries. G r o w ­
ing m o r e s o r g h u m is important because it will
i m p r o v e f o o d supply a n d stability. This is a priority
p r o b l e m c o m m o n to all t h e SAT, a n d o n e w h i c h is
susceptible to a centralized research c a m p a i g n
w h i c h should have t w o p r o n g s : incorporating
c o n s u m e r - d e s i r e d qualities into s o r g h u m s w i t h
o t h e r desired qualities, and tackling t h e processing
questions at a variety of scales. There is a lot
to be said for a high-tannin pericarp if t h e
c o n s u m e r can easily a n d cheaply take it off w h e n
h e w a n t s t o eat t h e grain.
Thirdly, t h e r e is t h e question of adaptation to
local f a r m i n g s y s t e m s . In my v i e w , this is ultim
a t e l y t h e j o b of national research establishm
e n t s , a n d m u s t involve use of social scientists at
t h e national level. There is, h o w e v e r , at present a
n e e d to service s u c h activity at t h e regional level.
Preferably, this will not be d o n e on t h e basis of a
single center m a n d a t e , because f a r m i n g s y s t e m s
m u s t cover m o r e e l e m e n t s than are ever in a
single m a n d a t e , including livestock a n d t r e e s ! But
t h e r e are s o m e signs of a c o m p r o m i s e in w h i c h
individual c e n t e r s take responsibility for servicing
local s y s t e m s w o r k in particular regions: I C A R D A
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