Sorghum and Pearl Millet Production, Trade, and Consumption in Southern Africa

Trends in the acreage, production and yields of sorghum, pearl millet and maize are presented for SADC countries, 1980-97. Domestic markets, international trade utilization and consumption are discussed and future trends predicted. It is concluded that for sorghum and pearl millet to have a future in the SADC food and feed system, current trends in declining yields must be reversed. The best prospects for promoting investment in improved crop management lie in expanding production and trade for the industrial market

Commercialization of Sorghum Milling in Botswana: Trends and Prospects

Commercial sorghum processing in Botswana has grown rapidly during the past decade. The number of sorghum millers has increased four-fold, and sorghum meal has become competitive with maize in urban and rural food markets. In early 1999, ICRISAT conducted a study of the factors underlying this growth, and the prospects for further market expansion. The study showed that growth was driven largely by four factors: the traditional consumer preference for sorghum meal; strong financial support to millers from the government; the availability of reliable, high-quality supplies of grain; and effective promot ion of processing technology by a parastatal agency. However, development of the milling industry had little impact on domestic sorghum production. Productivity in Botswana remains too low for the crop to compete with South African imports, and only 2% of the industry's grain purchases are grown domestically. Key issues likely to affect future expansion include the identification of alternative sources of grain supplies (e.g. Zimbabwe); improvements in product promot ion, market intelligence, and product differentiation (e.g. targeting distinct products for breakfast porridge vs stiff porridge); and the prospects for industry consolidation into a few larger millers. While the Botswana case is not specifically replicable in neighboring countries, the stimulus created by linking technology, finance, and raw material supply offers important lessons for the development of commercial crop processing throughout southern Africa

Commercialization of sorghum milling in Botswana

During the past decade, commercial sorghum processing in Botswana has grown rapidly. In 1989, the country had 36 small-scale sorghum mills, most operating on a service basis, i.e. milling grain by the bucket or bag on behalf of individual consumers. By 1999, the number of small- and medium-scale sorghum mills had increased four-fold. The majority of these mills are now buying grain for processing and sale through local retail shops and supermarkets. The quantity of sorghum being commercially milled has increased from an estimated 17 000 t to 60 000 t over this same period. In consequence, the status of sorghum has changed from being a food security crop largely consumed in rural areas, to a commercial crop competing in the urban food market

Gender Research Methodologies for Agricultural Research in India: Summary and Recommendations of a Workshop 27-28 May 1996

ICRISAT is concerned about the implications of technological changes in agriculture for the welfare of women. A 2-day informal workshop on methodologies for gender research was held on 27 and 28 May, 1996, at ICRISAT Asia Center. The primary objectives of the workshop were to refine the Institute's gender research methodologies and to initiate the development of a strategy for mainstreaming gender analysis in technology development at ICRISAT. Specifically, the workshop was intended to identify gender-related differences in preferences for varieties and technologies that may constrain technology adoption; identify a set of key indicators to measure the intrahousehold distribution of welfare gains from the adoption of given technologies; and identify simple, accurate, and quick methods for data collection. The workshop was attended by participants from research and training institutions and nongovernmental organizations in addition to ICRISAT scientists. This document contains a synthesis of discussions that took place, and the summaries of presentations made by participants. Specific recommendations on developing a strategy for mainstreaming gender are included in the synthesis

Some Considerations for Precision Metrology of Thin X-Ray Mirrors

Determination of the shape of very thin x-ray mirrors employed in spaced-based telescopes continues to be challenging. The mirrors shapes are not readily deduced to the required accuracy because the mount induced distortions are often larger than the uncertainty tolerable for the mission metrology. In addition to static deformations, dynamic and thermal considerations are exacerbated for this class of mirrors. We report on the performance of one temporary mounting scheme for the thin glass mirrors for the Constellation-X mission and prospects for deducing their undistorted shapes

Optically bound microscopic particles in one dimension

Counter-propagating light fields have the ability to create self-organized one-dimensional optically bound arrays of microscopic particles, where the light fields adapt to the particle locations and vice versa. We develop a theoretical model to describe this situation and show good agreement with recent experimental data (Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 128301 (2002)) for two and three particles, if the scattering force is assumed to dominate the axial trapping of the particles. The extension of these ideas to two and three dimensional optically bound states is also discussed.Comment: 12 pages, incl. 5 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev.