Sorghum and pearl millet are critically important crops in Africa, particularly for small-scale producers and communities in the drylands. These crops represent the main cereal cropping options of the vast semi-arid zone of Sub-Saharan Africa and are thus drivers of agricultural transformation in these areas. For example, in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, sorghum and millet together make up more than 70% of the total cereal production. These crops are also important for livestock feed.

This project will support the accelerated development of climate-smart sorghum and millet varieties by the new OneCG breeding programs in Africa (being established by CIMMYT). This will be accomplished by building elite gene pools, as well as discovering and deploying climate-smart traits, all employing modern pangenomics-enabled approaches. The work will be done in close collaboration with NARS partners and CIMMYT breeders.