RA 00110.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

Area, Production, and Use of Millet
Importance of the Crop
World production of all millets is about 29 million t,
of which about 35% is produced in Africa (Table 1).
The major African producers are Nigeria (about
3 1 % of the African production) and Niger (about
12%), both in West Africa. Other major producers
are Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Senegal in West
Africa, and Sudan and Uganda in East Africa.
Pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum) is the
major millet grown in Africa. Apart from Uganda,
which grows mainly finger millet, Elusine corocana
(ICRISAT 1980), all the major African producers
listed in Table 1 produce primarily pearl millet.
In all the major African millet-producing countries,
the crop is of considerable importance in the
agricultural system, and accounts for over one-third
of total cereal output (Table 1). This contrasts with
other areas of the world where large quantities of
millets are produced, but in which they usually
account for less than 10% of total cereal output. For
example, India grows one-third of the world's millet,
but the crop only represents about 7% of total cereal
production. About 65% of Indian millet production
is pearl millet. In relative terms pearl millet is more
important to the agricultural systems and economies
of Africa than in other regions of the world.
Aggregate Production and Growth Rates
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the only part of the
developing world in which the index of per capita
food production has declined during the last two
decades (World Bank 1984). Of all the subregions of
SSA, West Africa has shown the slowest growth rate
for total food production. Per capita production of
all crops in West Africa has declined, except for rice,
which is a minor staple in the region.
Table 1. Average annual area, production, and yield of millets and percentage of total cereal production by major
producing countries in Africa as well as major regions of the world, in 1974-76 and 1980-82.
Region/
Area (000 ha)
Cereal
Production (%)
Production
(000 mt)
Yield (kg ha -1 )
country
74-76
80-82
74-76
80-82
74-76
80-82
74-76
80-32
Africa
Burkina Faso
Chad 1
Mali 1
Niger
Nigeria
15218
857
959
1212
2150
4800
16247
870
1160
1425
3060
5230
13.9
31.7
87.8
70.1
74.0
34.5
13.8
32.1
88.0
76.9
76.5
32.4
9630
364
520
852
828
2843
10249
387
593
868
1321
3220
633
425
542
702
385
592
619
441
510
615
432
636
Senegal 1
Sudan
Uganda
1004
1126
498
938
1120
303
79.7
15.8
38.2
80.7
12.3
42.1
658
416
613
642
393
489
655
370
1232
705
345
1615
Asia
India
25212
18338
23450
18096
3.0
7.6
2.5
6.7
16718
9042
16445
9426
663
493
701
521
South America
211
167
0.4
0.3
241
193
1141
1157
USSR
2914
2807
1.4
1.1
2410
1791
827
637
World
43610
43050
2.1
1.8
29062
28733
666
668
1. Includes sorghum.
Source: FAO Production Yearbook 1982.
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