Sorghum ID, a Committed Partner

Right after the Cirad (Centre for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research focused on Development) announced that the second World Sorghum Conference will be held in France, Sorghum ID decided to work alongside the conference organisers. In addition to liaising with its members and taking part in the exhibition space, Sorghum ID, represented by Valérie Brochet, was included in four key-moments of the conference agenda.

Sorghum ID – an Organisation that Focuses on Developing the European Sorghum Industries

Sorghum ID is an organisation that was created in 2017, after the successful first European Sorghum Conference (held in Bucharest in 2016). During her presentations, Sorghum ID representative Valérie Brochet laid out the organisation’s objectives and actions, but also spoke about the specificities and prospects of the European marketplace. «Our main objective is to promote and develop sorghum production and genetics in Europe», she said. To achieve that mission, Sorghum ID works on building a European-wide industry, covering all actors, from seed to livestock grower or processor and carries out promotional activities that bring sorghum to the forefront under different angles.
·      The most tangible benefits of the crop
·      The food and non-food market outlets
·      The European genetics
·      The European seed production
·      The agronomic techniques enabling farmers to hone their production skills.

«In Europe, sorghum presents multiple benefits, such as hybrids that are highly adapted to the European climate and equipped to meet climate change hazards, but also cultivation practices that are easy to control; outlets that provide multiple opportunities, with particularly significant prospects for human food use due to the plant’s gluten-free profile and nutritional characteristics», Valérie Brochet mentioned. «All these different assets hold great promise to breeders, growers, processors, and customers at large. The main challenges consist in reaching a critical mass and increasing R&D investments in order to help generate a wide range of products. This will allow us to meet the dynamic demand that characterizes the various sorghum markets.»

Europe’s current sorghum area varies between 500 000 and 560 000 hectares per year (grain and feed production).

To download the presentation, please click here