14 October 2011
No. 1488
Participants of the HOPE Project global planning and review meeting in Addis Ababa.
Bringing hope to smallholder sorghum and millet farmers
HOPE holds global planning and review meeting in Addis Ababa Under the HOPE Project, the combination of improved technologies (crop varieties and management) with institutional innovations that increase market access and demand will increase productivity of sorghum and millets in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This will also improve household food and nutritional security and facilitate the transition to market-oriented and viable sorghum and millet economies that enhance livelihoods of the poor.
T
he first global planning and review meeting of the project “Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement (HOPE) for Sorghum and Millets in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia” is currently ongoing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting started on 12 October and will conclude on 16 October. The meeting, attended by collaborating scientists from participating countries in Africa and Asia, is organized by ICRISAT in collaboration with the
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), the HOPE Project’s lead partner in the country, and was officially opened by Ethiopia’s State Minister of Agriculture, His Excellency Ato Wondirad Mandefro. Addressing the meeting participants, the State Minister emphasized the importance of agricultural research in accelerating the pace of agricultural transformation and realizing food security amidst the looming threat of climate change. He appreciated the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation for its funding to page 2 ...4