Mali: New initiative launched to help climate-proof sorghum farming for millions

Two of Belgium’s top agricultural research institutes are collaborating with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to launch a new climate adaptation initiative in Mali that aims to safeguard sorghum yield – a crop that millions depend on for food and income in the West African nation. The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) and the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) along with the Mali Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER) and the Agene Nationale de la Meteorologie (Mali-METEO), launched the ‘StratAdapt-Mali’ project on the 4th of April 23. The groundbreaking project will aid rural farming communities, agricultural researchers, and other stakeholders to better plan in the face of extreme weather, through training and advanced crop and climate modelling technology that translates raw climate data into actionable information suited to local communities. This includes CLIMTAG, a web-based tool ...