Sorghum production in Chad

Sorghum production in Chad is one of the country's most important subsistence crop. In the Republic of Chad, Sorghum (Sorghum guineense) is a staple food crop which is also used as animal feed and for brewing beer. As of 2011, its production at the farm level was of the order of 650.000 tons from cropped area of 792,667 hectares (1,958,720 acres) with a yield rate of 8.2 tons per hecatare. It accounts for only 1.1% of world production and its world ranking is 17. Sorghum production, which was 398,000 tons in 1961, has almost doubled (compared to 2011); however its yield has varied widely over the years with a record low of 143,000 tons in 1981. Archeological evidence indicate that it was a wild grain in the Lake Chad region. In the same area cultivated sorghum succeeded the growth of savannah grasses.

Production

Areas under production as of 1988, for Chad's most important subsistence crops, sorghum, millet, and berebere, in that order, showed a declining trend from the mid-1950s. During the 1960s and 1970s, area under these crops declined from an average of 15,000 kilometres (9,320.57 mi) to about 10,000 kilometres (6,213.71 mi). There was a further fall to the level of about 7,500 kilometres (4,660.28 mi) from 1981 to 1986. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s statistical reports indicate that from 1981 to 1985, the average grain production of sorghum and millet cultivation was of the order of 85% of the total area with corresponding Between coarse all grain production in the range of 80 to 95%.

Transplanted sorghum (muskwari) is reported to be a common crop produced in Lake Chad area. Plants which are raised in the nurseries are taken out when they are 20-30 cm in height and then transplanted on the fields, which are drained of water, at the rate of 35,000 plants per ha. Gestation period for the crop is about 4 months and the yield is reported to be good. For better production, under a FAO project, adoption of sorghum cultivar S-35, has been successful in its multiplication and distribution.

Production of the Maskawa sorghum of the shorter variety are planted in the clay areas of Lake Chad where it is transplanted in a wide area of land that get exposed as the flood recedes. They are planted with wide spacing. They are transferred from nursery beds and planted 30 cm deep in holes that are dug through clay with a crow bar.{{sfn|Smith|Frederiksen|2000|p=315}

References

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Bibliography

• Smith, C. Wayne; Frederiksen, Richard A. (25 December 2000). Sorghum: Origin, History, Technology, and Production. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-24237-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)