Sorghum In South Africa

This grass can survive in most any climate, but people cannot live well on it, unless genetic improvements make it more nutritious

by Meredith Small

Sorghum is a grass that prospers in the worst conditions. It loves high temperatures, and even drought doesn't impede its growth. Moreover it thrives in nutrient-poor land that has been planted over and over. In other words it can gown anywhere. Consequently it's the fifth–most planted cereal in the world. But toughness isn't sorghum's only virtue. It can be eaten, made into sweet syrup, turned into beer, fed to livestock and transformed into bioplastics or biofuel. Despite that wide array of uses, sorghum needs some improvements.

Although in the United States it is grown for livestock feed, most of the sorghum grown in Africa and Asia is used as human food, which is a nutritional risk. It is low in Vitamins A and E and deficient in minerals, such as iron and zinc. And although the grass is full of healthy fiber, the protein in sorghum is hard to digest. As a result, relying too heavily on sorghum as a food can cause malnutrition, an impaired immune system and blindness. A sorghum-heavy diet can even lead to low birth weight and stunt a child's growth. And yet, while not commercially grown, it remains one of the staple crops of Sub-Saharan Africa.

A variety of groups hope to improve sorghum's nutrition. For example, The Gates Foundation's Grand Challenge in Global Health provided $18.6 million to establish the Africa Biofortified Sorghum project, initiated to make a better sorghum though genetic engineering. Seven African organizations, including the University of Pretoria in South Africa, are involved. It makes sense that South Africa is part of this initiative since sorghum is the third most–used grain there, after maize and wheat. Also, because sorghum is used primarily for human consumption in South Africa, it's a critical crop.

Luke Mehlo of the South Africa Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) explains why a genetically engineered, more-nutritious sorghum is important for South Africa: "In the case of crop failure due to drought or excessive rain, we can have confidence that at least one crop can sustain our communities."
So far, there has been little genetic research on sorghum in Africa but in September, 2008, the South African government gave CSIR permission for the Africa Biofortified Sorghum project to start greenhouse trials on genetically modified sorghum. With that green light, explains Mehlo, researchers in South Africa can begin genetically engineering sorghum by employing the better understood sequences of maize and rice, as well as what is currently known about sorghum's genome. The goals are more nutritious and more easily digestible versions.

"This project could not have come at a better time," Mehlo says. "Climate change is an undeniable reality. Africa is increasingly becoming prone to droughts and famine. The population is also increasing and there is an overwhelming need to diversify our food sources through harnessing crop genetic diversity, even amongst neglected crops like sorghum."