ABSTRACT
Agricultural research in the region has been carried out over several decades by the Institute for Research in Tropical Agriculture (IRAT), a French-supported institute, followed by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) supported International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), set up in the country in the early seventies, and, lately, by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supported Farming Systems Research which initiated a multi-disciplinary research effort in 1979. Interesting, although very limited, yield results from the experimental varietal trials have been reported by agricultural scientists working at these centers. Compare, for example, the existing farm yield levels reported in Chapter 5 (Tables 5.7 and 5.14), with those realized at the experiment stations, the research managed trials, and the model farms presented in Table 7.1 of this chapter. In particular consider the case of sorghum and maize, for which data are available. The ICRISAT's (1980-1981) sorghum variety E-35-1 has the potential of an average yield of 3.5 to 4 metric tons per hectare with the recommended fertilizer applications and management practices. Such yield levels are, of course, realized under highly controlled conditions which are currently difficult to attain in farmers' fields.
