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The International Sorghum and Millet (INTSORMIL) Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP, pronounced "crisp") began in 1979 and includes the participation of
seven U.S. universities (University of Ohio, Kansas State University, Mississippi State University, University of Nebraska, Purdue University,
Texas A&M University and West Texas A&M University) and the USDA/ARS, as
well as research institutions in the U.S. and collaborating countries.
The INTSORMIL CRSP, or simply INTSORMIL, is a research organization focused on education, mentoring, and collaboration with host country scientists in developing new technologies to improve sorghum and pearl millet production and utilization worldwide. The results of the research are of benefit to both the United States and collaborating countries.
INTSORMIL research is based on long-term, scientist-to-scientist collaboration to remove constraints to the production and utilization of sorghum and pearl millet. This research involves the development and exchange of data, techniques, germplasm, and information between the United States and collaborating countries, to the benefit of producers, processors and consumers of sorghum and pearl millet worldwide.
INTSORMIL plant breeders work with agronomists, plant pathologists and entomologists to select varieties of sorghum and pearl millet which are resistant to pests such as parasitic weeds, fungi, bacteria, and insects. INTSORMIL food scientists work with plant breeders and agricultural economists to identify and develop lines of sorghum and pearl millet with improved characteristics for milling, food products, and livestock feed. INTSORMIL agricultural economists do research on the economic aspects, including economic impact, of agricultural research on the production and utilization of sorghum and pearl millet.
The plant breeders of the INTSORMIL Collaborative Research Support Program have been instrumental in introducing germplasm (genetic material) from many foreign countries into U.S. sorghum and pearl millet lines, improving the resistance of these U.S. crops to many plant diseases. Drought tolerance and disease tolerance bred into U.S. lines of sorghum developed by INTSORMIL researchers have been incorporated into lines of these crops in Africa and Latin America, improving crop production and fighting hunger in those areas. For more specific information about INTSORMIL's collaborative research, educational, and networking activities, contact the scientists and economists who are INTSORMIL's
U.S. Principal Investigators or contact INTSORMIL's
Management Entity.
The organizational structure of INTSORMIL includes the U.S. Agency for International Development, the principal source of funding for the collaborative research and educational activities, the Management Entity, located at the University of Nebraska, the
seven U.S. universities and the USDA/ARS at which the U.S. principal investigators are based, and research institutions (universities and national agricultural research systems) at which collaborating scientists work outside of the U.S. In addition INTSORMIL researchers collaborate with scientists and economists at International Agricultural Research Centers (most notably, the International Center for Research in the Semi-Arid Tropics,
ICRISAT) and collaborate with organizations such as World Vision International and national agricultural extension services to extend
INTSORMIL-generated technologies to users. The Management Entity is responsible to the U.S. Agency for International Development to administer the funding provided by the U.S. government; the
Technical Committee is responsible for the technical direction of the program and makes recommendations to the Management Entity and Board of Directors on policy matters; and the
Board of Directors is responsible for policy-level guidance of the program. An
External Evaluation Panel periodically evaluates the program and makes recommendations regarding the direction, implementation, and management of the program.
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