Dr. Pearl Abu, a plant breeder at the West African Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), is leading research efforts to increase the productivity of pearl millet in sub-Saharan Africa by delivering ‘climate-smart’ varieties to farmers. 

Pearl millet is one of the most drought-tolerant cereals predominantly grown in marginal farming communities in the northern part of Ghana, which are characterized by relatively lower and erratic rainfall patterns. The crop is an integral part of food systems in marginal communities in Ghana and is a ‘survival crop’ for most farmers who do not have the luxury of irrigation. The crop, which is a C4 grass, was domesticated in sub-Saharan Africa and relies on several morphological and physiological mechanisms for drought resilience, which Dr. Abu hopes to exploit in her research. 

With the projected exacerbated impact of climate change on the world’s agricultural productivity by 2030, which would convert major growing areas into marginal farming communities, most of the currently available crop varieties, especially cereals, will become unsuitable for cultivation, necessitating the exploitation of other underutilized crops with native ‘drought-hardiness’ such as pearl millet as an alternative food source for sustainable crop production in Africa. 

Dr. Abu’s research seeks to harness the genetic diversity for drought resilience in pearl millet to identify morphological and physiological traits associated with high yield and drought. Using mutation breeding technology, Dr. Abu aims to induce genetic mutations in pearl millet to create new varieties with improved traits, particularly high yield, disease resistance and drought tolerance and identify novel candidate genes for drought tolerance in the crop. By combining these approaches, Dr. Abu hopes to develop pearl millet varieties that are better adapted to marginal conditions in African, with higher yields and improved resilience against diseases and drought. This research is crucial for enhancing food security in the region and ensuring the availability of nutritious food crops for the local population.