Development and Diffusion of Dryland Cereals in Semi-Arid Tropics of India — Role of Partnerships

In any crop improvement program, public and private partnerships are vital for development of improved cultivars and their dissemination to the target niche locations. This paper has provided information on the diffusion of dryland cereals (particularly sorghum and pearl millet) in India and has highlighted the role of partnerships in sustaining the crop improvement as well as improved cultivars’ adoption. Over the past two decades, the R&D in pearl millet and sorghum has become increasingly privatized, reflecting a general shift in India's agricultural research system from public sector dominated to private sector-driven seed development and distribution. The accomplishments of pearl millet and sorghum breeding are considered as the success stories in India, with a large number of high-yielding, disease-resistant hybrids and open-pollinated varieties very widely used by the Indian farmers. This was made possible because of strong partnerships and Consortium model introduced by ICRISAT. This kind of approaches lead to scientific innovations that create a vibrant and sustainable supply of new improved cultivars and their adaptation in the targeted regions very quickly.