RA 00048.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

s o r g h u m hybrids in India. O n e reason is that t h e
f a r m e r s have to buy hybrid s o r g h u m s e e d s every
year in place of using their o w n s e e d f r o m t h e
previous harvest. Farmers find this difficult.
Seeing this p r o b l e m , t h e Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University has d e v e l o p e d high-yielding varieties
of s o r g h u m w h i c h have spread considerably
(covering 2 6 % of t h e s o r g h u m area) in t h e state
in recent years.
Rana
A limited spread of high-yielding varieties of
s o r g h u m is o f t e n attributed to their nonacceptability
by t h e f a r m e r s . But adoption of highyielding
hybrid s o r g h u m in Maharashtra State
indicated that t h e f a r m e r is not against it. The
real reason for poor adoption in other areas is
lack of adequate extension and s e e d production
efforts comparable w i t h t h o s e in Maharashtra
State. A n o t h e r reason is t h e f a r m e r s ' poor
resource position to be able to afford t h e higher
input cost of t h e package of r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
for high-yielding s o r g h u m hybrids.
M u r t y
The price differences b e t w e e n hybrid s o r g h u m
a n d local s o r g h u m in t h e paper by v o n O p p e n
s e e m t o b e exaggerated. W e have not o b s e r v e d
s u c h h u g e ( 4 0 - 5 0 % ) differences in t h e price of
t h e t w o varieties.
1 . W h y w a s t h e r e n o a s s e s s m e n t o f h u m a n and
animal population and migration trends for
t h e SAT?
2. W h y w a s t h e r e no discussion of t h e risks or
possible i m p a c t s of regional or global climate
changes?
3 . W h y w a s t h e r e n o discussion o f deforestation
in t h e SAT as it affects w a t e r cycles a n d
regimes?
4 . W h i l e t h e r e w a s s o m e discussion o f increasing
energy prices, w h y w a s t h e r e n o n e o n
declining w a t e r tables, especially in t h e USA?
T h e a n s w e r s m a y relate to t h e real operational
f o c u s o f t h e s y m p o s i u m — i n c r e a s i n g t h e grain
production of s o r g h u m . There is a n e e d to m o v e
t o w a r d broader and m o r e s y s t e m s - o r i e n t e d goals.
This w o u l d require greater e m p h a s i s and w o r k o n
t h e f o l l o w i n g :
1. M o r e e m p h a s i s on other uses of t h e c r o p
(shelter, fencing, fuel, fodder, etc.)
2. M o r e e m p h a s i s on multi-year cropping syst
e m s and s t r a t e g i e s — e s p e c i a l l y in regard to
drought.
3. M o r e e m p h a s i s on field-margin interaction
a n d p a t t e r n s — e s p e c i a l l y for pest protection.
4. M o r e e m p h a s i s on intercropping and diversified
f a r m i n g s y s t e m s .
5. A m o r e systematic a t t e m p t to w o r k directly
w i t h t h e " t a r g e t " o f t h e s y m p o s i u m — t h e
peasant in all stages of the research, experimentation
and delivery.
Prasad
A positive relationship b e t w e e n protein and
s o r g h u m grain price d o e s not s e e m convincing
as s h o w n by v o n O p p e n . Price is a function of
preference w h i c h is o f t e n influenced by t h e color
of t h e grain. For instance in central Tamil N a d u ,
y e l l o w e n d o s p e r m s o r g h u m grain f e t c h e s a
higher price than w h i t e grain, in spite of t h e fact
that t h e f o r m e r contains less protein.
Dahlberg
Given t h e n e e d t o m a p o u t real w o r l d distributions
and trends, as w e l l as to appreciate t h e
larger content, t h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s e m e r g e :