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ABSTRACT. Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum graminicola remains the most important foliar disease of sorghum in West and Central Africa. This paper describes the advances made in sorghum anthracnose research that has led to a better understanding of pathogenic and genotypic diversity, epidemiology and important disease management strategies. We further highlight how understanding pathogen diversity interplays with the major sustainable anthracnose management strategies such as the use of host plant resistance and crop residue management within the region.

Création variétale décentralisée Sélection participative des variétés de sorgho à l'aide d'essais multilocaux dans deux zones cibles

Many efforts have been made to improve sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] varieties, but adoption of improved varieties remains low. Sorghum has diverse panicle architecture and grain qualities that vary within and between races, and utilization and adoption may depend on these traits. Recent efforts in West Africa to improve local guinea race germplasm as a base material have diversified potential options: there are breeding materials with a range of panicle types with increased grain number per panicle and a range of droopiness, as well as laxness and threshability. This study was designed to expand our understanding about sorghum grain and panicle traits that are important for farmers in the Sudan savanna zone of Mali. We combined a sorghum panicle sorting activity with qualitative interviews in Mande and Dioïla to understand farmers' knowledge and preferences about sorghum characteristics. A total of 20 panicle sorting activities and 20 interviews were conducted with men and women sorghum producers. Based on their roles and responsibilities in sorghum production and processing, farmers associated specific panicle types, plant types, and grain traits with aspects of pest control, threshability, storage duration, and yield. Farmers preferred open panicles and droopy architecture for disease and pest control; hard grains for storage and appropriate ratios of flour and grits; high density of grain on the panicle for yield; and specific glume qualities for threshability. Breeding programs need to consider these regional preferences and gender roles to develop appropriate material and increase adoption of productive varieties.

S orghum bicolor (L.) Moench is a major staple cereal crop in the Sahelian and savannah zones of West Africa (WA), where it constitutes the main cereal in the diet of millions, mostly living in rural areas. Yields on farmers' fields average only 100 g m −2 (1 t ha −1 ) (FAOSTAT, 2018), despite the development of new varieties (Yapi et al., 2000;Atokple, 2003). In recent years, farmers in the savannah zones of WA have replaced sorghum with early-maturing maize (Zea mays L.) varieties, especially in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)-producing systems, where fertilizer is easily available (Staatz et al., 2011;Theriault et al., 2018). However, area under sorghum has been increasing in these countries (FAOSTAT, 2018), because sorghum is the cereal crop that can be grown successfully without the use of mineral fertilizer. Thus, new sorghum varieties can provide advantages to farmers, especially if they are well adapted to low soil fertility, especially low-P (LP) conditions. This is particularly important

Malian farmers’ traditional system for managing seed of sorghum, an indigenous crop of vital importance for food security and survival, can be conceptualized as a commons. Although this system maintains a wide range of varieties and helps ensure access to seed, its ability to create and widely disseminate new varieties to meet evolving opportunities and challenges is limited. A network of farmer groups, public breeding programs, and development organizations collaborating in decentralized creation and dissemination of sorghum varieties in Mali is examined regarding (1) how the network developed and what activities it conducts; (2) the resulting varietal diversity, varietal performance and organizational models; and (3) the elements of the traditional seed system that were maintained, strengthened or transformed. A single-case study approach was used that relies on published literature, official catalogues of released varieties and a database of farmer seed-cooperative requests for foundation seed. The functioning of the network and its varietal-, seed-, and organizational- outcomes are documented and the elements of the traditional sorghum seed system that are maintained or strengthened are analyzed. The evolution of the network’s reliance on commoning as a social process and its strengthening of core Seed Commons features are discussed with a view to the network’s contributions to targeted development outcomes and potential replicability. The case demonstrates how creating a framework for collaboration, enabling actors and organizations to take on collective responsibility while maintaining distributed decision-making at local level, opens opportunities for transforming farming- and food-systems towards sustainability and resilience.

This paper addresses how available resources, food security, technology, and culture are shaping the choices rural Malian women are making to ensure the health, energy, and well-being of their families. This research contributed to evaluating an eight-year research project (An Be Jigi) targeting improved nutrition. The study, performed over four months, used semi-structured interviews of 120 women in six villages in Mali to assess the identified issues with qualitative and quantitative approaches. This paper describes the history of the An Be Jigi project, whole-grain processing techniques, and group cooking for knowledge sharing with rural women for improved nutrition. Interviews revealed substantial adoption of whole-grain processing techniques and women's appreciation of the nutritional benefits of those techniques. The women engaged in group cooking (cuisines collectives) appreciated the activities and mentioned multiple benefits from using them. Women identified access to mills, and to some extent the social stigma of laziness and poverty associated with whole-grain food, as limiting factors of adoption. This study of women's practices and perceptions regarding use of whole grain tells a story of changing consumption habits being shaped by culture, technology, knowledge, and available resources. Malian women are agents of change and care in their adoption of new techniques and recipes for the improved nutrition of young children and households.

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