Strengthening its partnership with private sector seed companies and public sector institutions to make available better seeds for the farmers, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) organized a consultation meeting with the partners of the Hybrid Parents Research Consortia recently to identify new priorities.

The Consortia partners decided to strengthen their continuing efforts to improve productivity, seed quality and disease resistance in sorghum, pearl millet and pigeonpea. Further, the Consortia will strengthen linkages with the industry and markets, and attract entrepreneurs to produce value-added products from sorghum and pearl millet.

According to Dr William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, the Consortia is guided by the vision of improving the well being of the poor of the semi-arid tropics through partnership-based agricultural research for impact.

"ICRISAT believes that pathbreaking scientific achievements are possible when different organizations work in tandem, consolidating their strengths and synergies," Dr Dar said. "We have a history of successful long-standing working partnerships with scientists from the public sector and now with the private sector in several research areas." ICRISAT's model of the Consortia is unique and first of its kind among the 15 international agricultural research institutes under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It was launched in 2000, when the Hybrid Parents Research Consortia for sorghum and pearl millet were formed. This was expanded to include pigeonpea in 2002.

These three consortia now boast of a membership of 33 private sector companies. The Consortia builds on ICRISAT's research strength in breeding improved crop parents. ICRISAT's hybrid parents have led to the development of 50 hybrids in sorghum and 60 in pearl millet.

The thrust areas for renewed research and partnership identified at the consultation meeting are:

• For sorghum:
  Improved grain yields; resistance to shoot fly, grain mold and aphids; diversify hybrids parents for post-rainy season adaptation; and strengthen the development of sweet stalk sorghum for ethanol production.
   
• For pearl millet:
  Develop hybrids for less endowed regions such as western Rajasthan; continue the development of hybrids resistant to downy mildew; and develop hybrid parents and hybrids for fodder use.
   
• For pigeonpea:
  Develop hybrids with improved seed color and cooking quality; resistance to pod borer, Fusarium wilt and sterility mosaic virus; and reduce the cost of hybrid seed production.
   
• Find more alternate uses for crops:
  Improve the use of sorghum and pearl millet in the poultry feed and food processing industries; and improve the use of sweet sorghum in ethanol production.

In addition to senior ICRISAT scientists and personnel from the private sector seed companies, the Director and Principal Breeder from the National Research Centre for Sorghum, and the Project Coordinator of the All India Coordinated Pearl Millet Improvement Project attended the consultation meeting.