Academy promotes millet as a way to avoid food crises

China's Zhangjiakou Academy of Agricultural Sciences has teamed up with CGC Overseas Construction Group Agricultural to promote foxtail millet in Ethiopia as a means to relieve the nation's food security problem.

The drought-tolerant crop could replace teff as an ingredient in injera, the traditional Ethiopian dish that is eaten daily in virtually every home.

Test plantings of the millet in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region - one of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia - have so far proved to be successful, the academy says.

Peng Dajun, deputy general manager of CGCOC, which is a subsidiary of a large, state-owned Chinese enterprise, says foxtail millet has an annual output of more than 7 metric tons a hectare - about 5 tons more than teff.

Several crops can be fermented to make injera, but he says dishes made using foxtail millet taste just like those including teff.

Last year, Ethiopia was hit by its worst drought in decades, leaving 8.2 million people in need of emergency food aid, according to media reports.

Peng says if foxtail millet had been planted widely in Ethiopia, the famine may have been avoided due to its strong drought tolerance.

Zhao Zhihai, chief agronomist at the academy, says cooperation with CGCOC can be complementary. Compared with the funds needed for scientific research, he says the costs of popularizing the crop and promoting it in the market are far higher.

"Enterprises may be in a better position to promote (foxtail millet) because of their capital strength," he says. "With their good public relations abilities, they are better at communicating with governments, too."

Peng adds that CGCOC can mobilize more funds than research institutes and have a better understanding of government policies in Africa.

The two partners have established a millet research center in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, where Peng aims to make a breakthrough in solving Africa's food security issues.

Zhao adds that they are also working on new species and advising enterprises on how to build up a complete industry chain for the crops they develop.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/13/2016 page17)