CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Cereals

This program is focused on improving the productivity and profitability of four major cereal crops—barley, finger millet, pearl millet, and sorghum—that are commonly grown in the drylands of Asia and Africa. Research will focus on three major interventions: producing well-adapted, higher yielding varieties with better disease resistance and tolerance to abiotic stresses; developing improved crop management technologies that are suited to dryland ecologies to get more out of existing and improved varieties; and fostering more efficient and effective systems for getting improved technologies into the hands of smallholder farmers. The goal is to achieve farm-level impacts and ultimately increase incomes, reduce rural poverty, improve food and nutrition security, and reduce adverse environmental impacts.