Chapter 7 Genomic Designing for Climate Smart Finger Millet Damaris Achieng Odeny, Adnan Niazi, Kassahun Tesfaye, Dagnachew Lule, Solomon Wanyonyi and Josephine Sarah Kunguni Abstract Finger millet is a nutritious cereal crop mainly grown in eastern Africa and southern parts of India. The crop has an incredible ability to adapt to adverse agro-ecological conditions, and is therefore a favorite of smallholder farmers in the tropics, especially women. Finger millet grain is gluten free and exceptionally rich in micronutrients including calcium, folic acid and iron. Despite its unique quality, there has been limited research investment in finger millet resulting in the lack of genetic and genomic resources for more efficient breeding. The abundant genetic resources at the center of origin are yet to be fully exploited for crop improvement, and to date, very few pre-breeding programs exist. Several studies indicate the potential use of the secondary and tertiary gene pools to broaden the narrow genetic base that has been created by the inbreeding nature of the crop. The recent D. A. Odeny (&) The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, P.O Box 39063 – 00623, Nairobi, Kenya e-mail:
[email protected] A. Niazi Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, SLU-Global Bioinformatics Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE75007 Uppsala, Sweden e-mail:
[email protected] K. Tesfaye Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ethiopia, P.O. Box 32853 (Private Box), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia e-mail:
[email protected];
[email protected] D. Lule Crop Breeder and Genetics, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Nifas Silk Sub City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia e-mail:
[email protected];
[email protected] S.