Action plan

The European Union provides momentum for the promotion of sorghum in Europe

At the initiative of the French inter-branch federation of maize and sorghum seeds producers (FNPSMS), two projects promoting sorghum and sorghum genetics in Europe were tabled in mid-2016 to the EU institutions, with the aim of receiving EU co-funding for promotion activities.

The European Commission decided, at the end of 2016, to reward the two projects with co-funding, providing even more momentum to the conclusions and action plan of the First European Sorghum Congress. Indeed, the two promotion programmes, each with a three-year budget, will enable the promotion of grain and silage sorghum as well as hybrid genetics:

  • In 5 EU countries: France, Italy, Spain, Romania and Bulgaria
  • In 2 Eastern European countries: Russia and Ukraine

The actions implemented under the two programmes between May 2017 and April 2020 will be varied: communication and promotion tools, field trials, conferences, technical publications, agricultural exhibitions, press and study trips, website and video clips, etc. All of them share a common objective: to improve awareness and knowledge of sorghum cultivation, convince people of its assets, and contribute to its development. From an operational perspective, the first actions were organised in the summer of 2017 in several EU countries.

At the same time, further strengthened by this momentum, new promotion projects focused on sorghum and its genetics were submitted in April 2017 to the EU institutions. These projects would target other EU countries as well as Middle Eastern countries. The final decision should be known in November 2017.