Contributions

Dual-purpose crops that integrate crops and livestock: The cowpea program in Nigeria recognized the importance of cowpea fodder and developed varieties that produced both high grain and fodder yield⁴⁴. ICRISAT has incorporated stover quality into its breeding program for sorghum, pearl millet and groundnut in India.

Earliness as a strategy for coping with drought and improving household food security. Improved varieties of pigeonpea in ESA were tailored to match the phenology of the crop with specific agroecosystems based on day-length and temperature⁴⁵. This ensures maturity before the crop is exposed to drought and shortens the hungry period.