Dual ‐purpose crops for grain and fodder to improve nutrition security in semi‐arid sub‐Saharan Africa: A review

This review synthesized published data on production systems, importance of DP varieties, the trade-off among grain and biomass uses, and the opportunities/challenges of growing DP varieties from cowpea, pearl millet, and sorghum. Findings showed that DP crops and varieties were largely grown by smallholder farmers in a variety of soil and climatic conditions with production systems characterized by large gaps between attainable and actual crop yields which varied significantly among regions. The DP varieties have greater potential to mitigate the land use competition between human food and animal feed and are a sustainable option to reduce these trade-offs. AbstractAddressing the challenge of food and nutrition insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will require innovative agriculture production systems that support multiple objectives. In recent years, several high-yielding, and nutrient-dense varieties of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) have been developed purposely as dual-purpose (DP) varieties in SSA to meet human nutrition and livestock feed needs. This review synthesized published data on DP varieties from cowpea, pearl millet, and sorghum. Findings showed that DP crops and varieties were largely grown by smallholder farmers in a variety of soil and climatic conditions with production systems characterized by large gaps between attainable and actual crop yields which varied ...
Source: Food and Energy Security - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: REVIEW Source Type: research