Promotion actions for sorghum and sorghum seeds in Austria and Hungary

As a crop with multiple outlets and high environmental and economic value, sorghum offers many opportunities for the EU’s internal market. The EU’s promotional programme has the ability to trigger significant developments within a limited budget.Sorghum, the 5th most cultivated cereal globally, has many uses, especially in animal feed (pigs, poultry, dairy cows), human food (gluten-free segment) and industrial processing (energy biomass, bioethanol, biomaterials). Sorghum currently covers 205,000 ha of the EU-28 and the EU ranks 6thamong global sorghum importers.In existence for nearly 50 years, the FNPSMS (National Federation for the Production of Maize and Sorghum Seeds) has been promoting maize seeds (a product similar to sorghum seeds) at the European level for the past 10 years. With its technical expertise and well-established communications network, the FNPSMS is an experienced organisation, optimally placed to carry out this programme successfully.The FNPSMS intends to promote sorghum and sorghum seeds in two EU countries: Austria and Hungary. These countries were selected for their climate, potential gains in acreage and market share, and the FNPSMS’s previous experience in promotional activities. The aim of this “B2B” campaign is to improve farmers’ and other agricultural professionals’ knowledge about sorghum, increase sorghum acreage and expand market shares for EU sorghum seed producers. The programme promotes the quality of European sorghum as against its global competitors, while respecting the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) greening requirements.The proposed catalogue of actions affects all specialised stakeholders, through both broad channels (website, video, etc.) and targeted means (press and study trips, variety trials, etc.). The total budget for this promotional programme amounts to EUR 459 997 over three years (EUR 153 333 per year on average).