22 April 2026, Kenya: At CIMMYT’s Kiboko research station in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands, a quiet but significant transformation is taking shape. A field tour brought together farmers, scientists from KALRO and CIMMYT, and private seed companies to evaluate 28 hybrid pearl millet varieties sourced from global partners in India, Brazil, and Europe; varieties selected for yield, adaptability, drought tolerance, and dual-purpose use as both food and livestock forage. Dr. Lilian Gichuru, Seed Systems Specialist at CIMMYT, explains that the initiative marks a deliberate shift from traditional open-pollinated varieties toward high-performing hybrids capable of maturing in as little as two and a half to three months.
By involving private sector players early, CIMMYT aims to accelerate the journey from research plots to farmers’ fields, with around five seed companies already showing interest in commercializing the varieties. For smallholder farmers like Kyaati Yambu and Leonard Mbwiko, both from Mtito Andei, the trials represent renewed hope for a crop that once thrived across Kenya’s drylands before declining due to social and agricultural change. Research Associate Molly Okoth notes that similar evaluations are ongoing across East and Southern Africa, reinforcing CIMMYT’s commitment to scaling climate-resilient solutions across regions with comparable conditions.
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