Promotion of sorghum and sorghum seeds on the internal market

Sorghum, a crop with multiple outlets and high environmental and economic value, offers many opportunities in Southern and Eastern Europe. The EU promotion programme can trigger significant developments within a limited budget.On this issue, FNPSMS (the National Federation for the Production of Maize and Sorghum Seeds) intends to promote sorghum and sorghum seeds on the internal market. Sorghum, the 5th most cultivated cereal globally, offers many outlets especially in feed (pigs, poultry, dairy cows) and industrial processing (energy biomass, bioethanol, biomaterials). Sorghum currently covers 250,000 ha in the EU-28 and EU ranks 6th among global sorghum importers.In existence for nearly 50 years, FNPSMS 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 communication network, FNPSMS is an experienced organisation optimally placed to carry out this programme successfully.The promotional programme focuses on two important geographical areas: southern EU (Italy, Spain and France) and eastern EU (Romania, Bulgaria). These regions were selected for their climate, potential gains in acreage and market share, and 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 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 €610,450 over three years (€203,483 per year on average).