The document summarizes a 4-day workshop organized by ICRISAT's Gender Research Program that brought together breeders, value chain stakeholders, and social scientists from West African countries. The goal was to define priority traits for sorghum, millet, and groundnut cultivars based on demand from key stakeholders, especially considering gender-related needs. Studies conducted prior to the workshop assessed trait preferences. Participants agreed production, nutrition, and market attributes must be considered in breeding, with an emphasis on nutrition security and gender equity. Traits like productivity, nutrition, and adaptability to marginal soils were discussed as priorities. The expected output is new product profiles to guide breeding programs in developing market-driven, gender-responsive varieties

1. Newsletter
Happenings
In-house version 23 July 2021, No. 1916
Workshop
Cereal-legume value chain stakeholders in WCA meet to develop
demand-driven and gender-responsive product profiles
Under the AVISA project funded by the Gates Foundation and USAID, supported by CRP-GLDC
ICRISAT’s Gender Research Program recently brought
together breeders, value chain stakeholders and social
scientists from Mali, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Nigeria to
define priority traits of cultivars of sorghum, millet and
groundnut during a 4-day workshop. Prior to the
workshop, studies were carried out with the national
agricultural research systems (NARS) partners in the
above countries, to examine and assess the trait
preferences of key stakeholders, especially taking into
account the specificity of traits with respect to gender-
related needs. The results of these studies were
presented during the workshop. The expected output is
priority trait demands translated into new market-driven
and gender-responsive product profiles for the breeding
programs at ICRISAT and NARS.
Highlights of the workshop
“Production, nutrition and market attributes must be
taken into account for breeding improved cereal and
legume varieties,” almost all participants strongly agreed
on this one point. Particular emphasis was placed on
nutrition security and gender equity as outcomes of
strategic plans of ICRISAT and national programs. It was
Dr Jummai O Yila, Gender Scientist and main organizer of
the event, making a point during the workshop.
agreed that high productivity must be accompanied by
the nutritional traits added in the cultivars and that they
are adaptable to marginal production conditions (poor
fertile soils that generally used by women for their own
fields). For example, the northern states of Nigeria,
Sahelian regions of Mali and the northern regions of
Burkina Faso, which are the largest producers of millet,
sorghum and groundnuts, are suffering from food
insecurity due to the security crisis and terrorist attacks.
As a result, women and children suffer from chronic
malnutrition because the little millet and sorghum
produced are often deficient in iron, zinc, and vitamin A.
For this proportion of the population, the new varieties
of millet to be developed must be on the one hand, rich
in iron, zinc and vitamin A, and on the other hand,
adapted to marginal production conditions and able to
be used for multiple purposes (human and animal food,
processing).
ICRISAT, through its crop improvement programs, has
been working to develop crop varieties keeping in mind
the priority needs of the farmers and other value chain
actors, as these products are intended for users with
different needs and preferences. At the workshop,
ICRISAT’s gender research team brought together
multidisciplinary research teams and various actors in
the cereal-legume value chains such as traders,
processors, producers, seed company managers and
aggregators, who deliberated and exchanged
information, data and learnings to define the priority
traits of sorghum, millet and groundnut cultivars.
Dr Jummai O Yila, Gender Scientist, ICRISAT–West and
Central Africa (WCA), who had examined and assessed
the trait preferences of key stakeholders in the value
Photo: N Diakite, ICRISAT
This work contributes
to UN Sustainable
Development Goals