Posted on December, 2, 2024 at 08:18 am
Sorghum, an ancient grain first domesticated in Africa, has been a dietary staple in regions like Asia, Africa, and India for millennia. However, its prominence has waned over time due to market shifts favouring crops like maize and wheat.
If maize, wheat, and rice are serving the population, why should sorghum get special attention?
One of the primary reasons is food security, which is a pressing issue in many parts of the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 282 million people in Africa remain undernourished, and over one billion lack access to healthy diets. While South Africa is regarded as food secure at a national level, household-level food insecurity persists.
Food security is not only about having a full stomach; it also means consuming sufficient nutrients to thrive physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively.
The local statistics are alarming:
Optimal nutrition depends partly on dietary variety, but many households worldwide follow a limited diet. Financial constraints play a role, as do habit, familiarity, and limited availability of alternative ingredients. The latter is heavily influenced by modern commercial agriculture systems, which prioritise economies of scale to meet the needs of a growing global population in the face of diminishing resources and increasing climate instability.
Sorghum is a highly nutritious grain, naturally gluten-free, and rich in proteins, minerals, and vitamins. However, its value extends beyond nutrition:
Despite its advantages, sorghum faces significant barriers:
Although sorghum has not disappeared, it has become a marginalised crop in South Africa. The decline in traditional African beer consumption has reduced local demand over the past decade. Additionally, exports to Botswana have ceased as the country has become self-sufficient and now exports sorghum to South Africa. These factors have transformed South Africa from a net exporter to a net importer of sorghum, primarily from the US.
The feasibility study conducted by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) highlights examples from the US and Australia, where sorghum is more competitive than maize and benefits from robust R&D programmes, such as those led by the Queensland Sorghum Alliance and Texas A&M University.
In the US, promotional efforts by the United Sorghum Check-off Program have increased sorghum consumption by 250% in just five years, despite the country having no historical ties to the grain. South Africa, as the origin of sorghum, has untapped potential to replicate and exceed this success.
In 2022, the DSI commissioned a sorghum value chain upgrade feasibility study to assess the state and potential of the local industry. Given that sorghum is the second most important grain in Africa after maize and the fifth globally (after maize, rice, wheat, and barley), the study set ambitious goals:
To meet these goals, the following steps are planned:
Driving these initiatives is the Sorghum Cluster Initiative (SCI), which brings together stakeholders to enhance the sorghum value chain from seed development to marketing.
Key partners include:
By aligning efforts and drawing on lessons from international success stories, South Africa has the opportunity to revitalise its sorghum industry and leverage its rich legacy with this ancient grain.
Source: Bizcommunity