Pest Losses and Control of Damage on Sorghum in Developing Countries - The Realities and the Myths

Davies, J C (1982) Pest Losses and Control of Damage on Sorghum in Developing Countries - The Realities and the Myths. In: Sorghum In the Eighties Proceedings of the lnternational Syrnposlum on Sorghum, 2-7 November 1981, Patancheru. A P lndla.

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Abstract

There have been significant advances in sorghum research and considerable increases in world sorghum grain production and yield in the past decade. However, the sobering fact 1s that, with the notable exception of India, there has been only a minimal improvement in overall production from the countries where sorghum is used primarily in human food (Kanwar and Ryan 1976) and indications are that production trends will be negative before long in many countries (Ryan, rsonal communication). This is a,slruation that an be ignored only at our peril. It is a situation for v which something can be done, but only if we take an objective look at our ideas-many of which are preconceived. We must realize that the solutions proposed and results obtained in the sorghum research field in developed countries, must be examined very critically before being adopted or utilized as blueprints for attacking the serious and urgent problems of increasing sorghum production, particularly in Africa. I make no apology. therefore, for 'slanting' my remarks today on entomology, towards the developing world situation. Even a brief scan of the sorghum literature shows that the developed world is exceptionally well catered for, both by the amount and quality of information being produced on sorghum in all scientific disciplines, including entomology. However, I suspect that in the 10 years since the last sorghum symposium, the number of research nd development workers, who are able to devote b eir full time to the sorghum crop in Africa and the developing world has not increased to anywhere near the extent needed, to cope with the well documented problems of feeding their rapidly expanding populations. Indeed the number of sorghum research workers in the developing world may well have decreased!

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Sorghum
Depositing User:	Library ICRISAT
Date Deposited:	06 Dec 2011 06:46
Last Modified:	06 Dec 2011 06:46
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/4077
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Author

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