Partnership to develop more nutritious, easily digestible Sorghum with increased levels of pro-Vitamin A and E, Iron, Zinc, Essential Amino Acids and protein prototype with increased lysine

South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is joining forces with eight other globally-respected organisations in a research project expected to develop a ‘super-sorghum’ with improved nutritional traits. This follows the announcement by the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative that a US$16.9 million grant has been offered to an African-led consortium under the leadership of Kenya-based Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International.

The Grand Challenges initiative - funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research - is a major international effort to achieve scientific breakthroughs in health problems that kill millions of people each year in developing countries.

For many of the world’s most food insecure people, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is the primary food grain. It is one of the most important staple crops in Africa and is uniquely adapted to the semi-arid and sub-tropical climatic conditions of the continent. Sorghum, however, has nutritional deficiencies. A diet based primarily on this grain is inadequate to meet the nutritional growth or maintenance requirements for children and adults, resulting in a form of hunger called micronutrient malnutrition.

CSIR Plant Biotechnologist, Dr Blessed Okole, says the ‘Super-Sorghum’ research project seeks to develop more nutritious and easily digestible sorghum varieties that contain increased levels of pro-vitamin A, vitamin E, iron, zinc, amino acids, and protein.

Nine organisations have joined together with a common vision of meeting these objectives. They are:

1. Africa Harvest, with headquarters in Kenya (Project Coordinator)
2. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa
3. African Agricultural Technology Forum (AATF)
4. Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
5. The International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
6. The University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa
7. The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) Grain Crops Institute, South Africa
8. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a DuPont Company, USA
9. University of Missouri-Columbia, USA

Sorghum transformation and analyses will be initiated in the laboratories of Pioneer/DuPont, University of Missouri-Columbia in the USA and at the CSIR in South Africa. Food formulations and digestibility studies will be carried out by the University of Pretoria and the CSIR. Major sorghum food processing technologies will also be optimised for the new cultivars.

“The primary objective of the project is to produce seeds of nutritionally improved cultivars of sorghum, appropriate for planting, which African small-scale farmers can source on a licence-free basis”, says Dr Okole. “With the support of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, this project consortium will contribute to the well-being of Africa. The CSIR team is privileged to form part of this scientific partnership.”

The CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) is one of the largest R&D, technology and innovation institutions in Africa, with a track record spanning 60 years. Structured around distinct operational research units and strategic technology centres, the CSIR strives for excellence in all its endeavours in order to improve the quality of life of South Africa’s people and to increase national and international competitiveness.

For more information, visit: www.CSIR.co.za and www.supersorghum.org