IDRC -MR171e SMALL MILLETS -- RECO...ENOATIONS FOR A NETWORK Proceedings of the Small Millets Steering COl'llDittee Meeting, Addi s Ababa, Ethiopia, 7-9 October 1987 Material contained in this report is reproduced as submitted and has not been subjected to peer review or rigorous editing by IDRC Communications Division staff. Unless otherwise stated, copyright for material in t,his report is he ld by the authors . Mention of a proprietary name does not constitute endorsement of the product and is given only for information . FOREWORD The S;nall Millets, which include finger millet (Eleusine ccraca..~a), fm,"tail millet ( Setaria i taiica) , proso millet ( Panicum m1liaceum) , kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculaturn), little millet (Pan1cu~ surnatrense), barnyard millet (Echinochloa .§B2.), fomo (Digitaria exilis) and teff (Eragrotis tef) are important to global agriculture and are m=.jor cereal crops, grcwn in fairly large areas of South l<..s1a, China, USSR and Africa. They are also found in areas cf the Ur11 ted States and Europe on a iinu. ted scale. Al though precise estimates on tl1eir area .:J1d product1cn are not ava11ao1e, these crops may occupy between 18-20 mil.lion hectares, prxucing 15-18 million tonnes cf gra:::..n. The reg1cnwise distr1bucic:1 cf area is 6 . 5 m. ha in South Asia , 5 m. ha in Chim. , 4 rr,. ha 111 USSR arni 2 m. ha 111 Africa. Finger millet is the principal small millet species grown in South Asia, followed. by kcx:io millet, f m.."tail millet, little millet, proso millet and barnyard mlllet in that order. Fcxta:::..l millet, and proso millet are important in China and proso nuiiet is grown extensively in Soutb Western USSR. In Africa, finger millet, teff and ·fonio have local l.Iliportance. In spite of the large areas ·chey OCC'J.PY and their importance in providin; fo:>d for mi ii ions of n.tral people, t..1ese c:::-op.s have re~e1ve:. verf lit~le attention at e1 ther r.at1cm~l or 1:1temanonal level. :n 1nc.r:y count.nes .. small millet research pro?"ranmes ge we~ er non-e::uste:.t.. Ali small millets are grown lil arid, serr..i-arid er montane :c:nes as rainf ed crops, i.l:lder marginal a.~i submarginal conC.1 tlons c: scii .fertility and misture. Even so, it should be appreciated that t.he average global proouctivi ty cf sm?.11 rr.illets is almost. a t.onrie per ha. There ha.s been a trend in the last tw decades to repiace these crops by major cereals like maize and wheat which has been c. factor in the reduction of area under these crops. Preser.tly 1 soall millets ge cultivated in areas ~nere they produce a more dependable harvest compared with an;.: other crop. This has been largely resp;:::r...sible -:or thei= continued presence and cul tivat ion in m:my parts cf the w:-rld. T:iere ls now an increasing reailzatic-::1 cf this fact, and a greater awareness that these crcps merit rrcre research and development. As a response to this nee-:i, the Indian Council cf A;ricult:i..l.rai Research, New Del.l'u, India, Ur.1 versi ty cf Agricu.i tur5.l Sciences, Bangalcre, India, and the Interriational De\~elop11€r~:r: ?--e~.e5.rc~1 Cer:Lre, Canada, Jointly crgan1zed the first Interr1at1onal Wcrkehop c-:; S:nall Millets, lil Octcber 1986, at 3angal0re, In:.ia. V.ore details en t.he obJect1 ve.s, and o:Jtcome cf th:..s meenng are fo;_;_;"ld :rn :.hs I:i.t.:::-OO'Jctcr;· Re:narY.s by K ::\iley, whiie the Feco!':'IT"lendatonE cf this. f:.!:"2L: ·... •::-rtshcp are fo'..lnd in 1'.;ipenci.J..x I::: c: t:ri:..s rep::.r::. One ·..•. ::=:..:: :~.·=- formation of a Small Millets Steering Conmittee, ccnsisting of members from India, China, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and canada. The St:eering Cornnittee was charged w~th the responsibilities of establishing a small millets network and identifying areas of mutual co-operation and collal:x:>ration. The Steering Cornnittee was given one year to come out with specific proposals on the nature of a srr~ll millets netw;)rk. The International Development Research Centre, Canada, was requested to take the init:1ative in organizing a meeting of Steering Corrrnlttee members at a suitable place. This report contains the proceedings of the first Steering Cormuttee meeting at the International Livestock Centre for Africa in Addis P.baba from Cctober 7-9 1987, under the auspices of the Institute of Agricultural Research. The proceedings contain the preparej papers presented during the first day cf the meeting, and a repcrt of the outcome of the discussions which took place during the second day. This report is being sent to the participants who at:tended the first workshop, other small millet scientists, research managers and directors of National Progranrnes, Universities and International Centres, as well as to potential donors. The Steering Cormuttee requests those who receive the report to carefully review the proposed network structure and activities, and provide carrnents to one of the Steering Cornnittee members. We look forward to your pa.."l.icipation and supp:;,rt in developing the International Sm5ll }'f.illets Networ).:. A Seetharam K Riley C"nainnan Secretary Small Millets Steering Cornnittee November, 1987 ll PARTICIPANTS ATI'ENDING FIRST SMALL MILLETS STEERING ca+il'I'I'EE MEETING A. MEMBERS 1. Mr Chen Jiaju Professor and Head Institute of Plant Germplasm Resources Laboratory of Sorghum and Pd.llets Chinese Academy of Agricul~ural Sciences 30 Bal Shi Quoa Lu West SUburbs, BelJing The People's Republic of China 2. Dr Seyf u Ketema {Co-Chairman) Leader, Teff Prograrrrne Institute of Agricltural Research Box 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 3. Mr Samuel E O:ielle Millets Breeder Sorghum and Millets Unit Uganda Agriculture and Forestry Research Organisation Serere Research Station PO Seroti, Uganda 4. Dr K Riley Senior Progrc.rn Officer Interna~1onal Develoµnent Research Centre 11, Jorbagh New Delhi - 110003, India 5 . Dr A Seetharam (Chairman) Project Coordinator All India Coordinated Millets Improvement Project GKVK campus, University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore - 560065, India iii B. INVITED PARTICIPANTS 1. Dr Seine Debela General .Manager Institute of Agricultural Research Box 2003 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2 . Dr Helak Werede Director Plant Genetic Resources Centre P o Box 30726 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 3. Dr Yilma Kebede Leader, Sorghum and Millets Progranme Institu~e of Agricultural Research Box 2003 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 4. Mr K E Prasada Rao Senior Botanist, Genetic Resources unit International crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) Patancheru P O Andhra Pradesh 502324, India lV CONTENTS Page PRESENTED PAPERS Dr. Seme Debele. Opening Remarks 1 Dr. Ken Riley .................... Background to the Steering conmitte meeting 2 Dr. Sayfu Ketel13. ................. Status of Small Millets in Ethiopia 6 Dr Yilma Kebede .................. Improvement of Finger Millet in (Eleusine coracana) Ethiopia 16 Mr. Fassli Kebebew. .~cti vi ties of the Plant Genetic Centre;Ethiop1a 21 Mr. Sam Odelle ................... Small Millet Improvement in Uganda 23 Dr. A. Seethara~ ................. Srrall Millets - Their Importance, Research and Developnental Status in India and South Asia 28 Mr. K.E. Prasada Rao ............. Yi.lnor Millets Germplasm Resources at ICRISAT 38 Mr. Chen Jiaju ................... The Present Status of Small Millets in China 46 DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS PROPOSED ORGANIZATION OF THE ~RK 51 Background 51 Network Name 51 Netw:>rk Participants 51 Crops Covered in the Netw:>rk 51 Objectives of the Netw:>rk 52 Financial Suppcn: 52 Steering Corrrr~t~ee 53 PROPOSED NE'IWJRK ACTIVITIES 53 Scientific Interaction 54 Broader Awareness of Small Millets 59 Genetic Resources of Srr~ll Y.illets 59 Collaborabve Programs 61 · Utilization of Technolo;y 63 Generation and Dissemination of Inforrration 63 Training 64 PRIORITY NEIWJRK ACTIVITIES REQUIRING EXTERNAL FUNDING 64 Jl.ppen1i:-: I Table - Collectio!"lS Of Small Millets ~£ Reported By Partic1pa~ing Prograi11S 66 Appendix II . Reconmendations Cf The First ~!"°J"Ce=r.:.c:::.onal ·vJcr~:.:h:.:~ C'n S:r.all ~tilletE E9 l Seme Debela I feel deeply honoured to be invited to make an opening statement on the ocassion of your first meeting here in .Addis Ababa. I thank you very ITR.lch for giving me this honour. The millets as a group are not widely grown in Ethiopia, although they possess attributes that could make them quite attractive particularly to the semi-arid zones of the country. About the only millet of the group that is grown by our mid-altitude fanners is finger millet. It is mostly used in beverage making. I am very happy to note that Teff, our staple food crop, is included in the small millets. This is very i.rrprtant to us, since it \oOJ.l.d allow international focus on the crop. SO far, there has been very little intellectual effort to i.nprove the crop at the international level, as it is only in Ethiopia that the crop is used as a major food item. Teff has been on the research agenda in Ethiopia for many years. Ho"'1ever, progress has been slow, mainly because of lack of focus and concentration. The lack of information en, and international support for the crop has been airong the major limiting factor. The Institute of Agricultural Research is now putting 91ll>hasis on the crop. We are in the process of creating a national research centre responsible for teff breeding, teff agronany and teff utilization. The centre will have a rm.llti-disciplinary team to guide as "'1ell as execute the research and developnent (R & D) programne on teff.