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Thesis (M. A. in Security Studies (Middle East, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa))--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Hafez, Mohammed; Kadhim, Abbas. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 27, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Dhimmi, ahl al dhimma, Copts, Egypt, religious minorities, Islam, millet, Pact of Umar. Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-112). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-229). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-229). Also available on the Internet.

The decline in cultivation and consumption of small millets crops seen across India in recent decades is a concern for many. These highly nutritious coarse grains hold significant cultural value as traditional foods for tribal farming populations and remain important contributors to regional agro-biodiversity. Born of out this concern, small millets have garnered recent attention as underutilized crops with potential to contribute to regional food and nutritional security through market development. By localizing small millets within the broader context of agricultural change, this work investigates links between cultivation, distribution and consumption – or the market chain – of small millet varieties in northern coastal Andhra Pradesh, India. Employing an interdisciplinary methodology drawing from anthropological and agribusiness approaches, this study conducts an in-depth, qualitative market chain analysis for finger millet and little millet varieties to produce a multi-sited ethnographic work on informal agricultural marketing in the case study area. In incorporating the political economic, historical and cultural dimensions of millets and other crops, this research teases out the complex relationships between food security, livelihoods, agricultural marketing and development interventions. This research aims to demonstrate how a holistic study of an agricultural commodity, which includes on-farm cultivation and consumption, can get at how smallholder farmers participate in local markets, in everyday practice, and how they engage with change. In connecting a traditional market chain analysis with detailed ethnographic study on the ground, we can see how farmers engage with markets embedded in particular historical and sociocultural contexts. Further, this work provides insights into the challenges of small millets-based livelihoods, going beyond the market to explore the many social institutions in which market participation is embedded. In doing so, I argue that nuanced approach to millets-based livelihoods, commercial crops and broader agrarian transition is necessary.

Finger millet is the second most important cereal in Uganda after maize. The yields however, have remained low due to several constraints, such as finger millet blast disease and limited technology options. Therefore breeding investigations were conducted to determine farmer preferred traits, genetic variation, combining ability and genetic effects for head blast disease and head shapes, and other quantitative traits in finger millet. Among other traits, farmers preferred high grain yield potential, brown seed colour, compact head shape, tolerance to blast disease, high tillering ability, medium plant height, early maturity, tolerance to shattering and ease of threshing in new finger millet varieties. Path coefficient analysis indicated that the most important traits were grain mass head-1, tillering ability and reaction to head blast disease. Overall, the high heritabilities and genetic advance (GA) as a percentage of mean revealed the existence of variability which can be utilised through selection and/or hybridisation. The genotype x environment interaction (GEI) and stability analysis showed significant differences due to genotypes (58%), environments (10%) and GEI (32%). Twelve genotypes that combined high yield potential and stability were identified for advancement in the program. Both general (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) were significant for most traits, but GCA effects were more important for all the traits except for number of fingers head-1, finger width and panicle width. The Hayman genetic analysis confirmed importance of additive gene action for most of the traits and that additive-dominance model was adequate for explaining genetic variation in finger millet. The results also indicated that yield was controlled by recessive genes whereas blast resistance was controlled by dominant genes. At least two genes, probably three gene pairs and their interactions seemed to control head shape in finger millet. The interactions observed suggest recessive and dominant epistasis, and probably an inhibitor were involved. Seemingly, the gene for curving of fingers, when present in a dominant form prohibits opening of the heads; whereas the recessive form leads to open head shape irrespective of the gene conditions in the other loci. This study forms the baseline for future investigations and the basis for devising breeding strategy on finger millet head shapes. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Thesis (M. S.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on June 19, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-70). Also issued in print.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. ssp. coracana) is an important food, food security and cash crop in eastern and southern Africa where small-scale farmers grow it in low input farming systems. The crop has food security, nutritional, cultural, medicinal, and economic value with high industrial potential. Little research and hardly any breeding have been done on the crop leading to low yields and low production. A project was therefore implemented in western Kenya during 2004-2007 seasons to investigate the possible breeding contributions to enhance productivity and production of the crop. The research comprised a social survey, germplasm evaluation, appraisal of ethrel as a chemical hybridising agent (CHA), genetic analysis of yield, and resistance to blast and Striga, and breeding progress in developing new finger millet varieties. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was conducted in three districts during 2006 to position finger millet (FM) in the farming systems, production constraints, and variety diversity and farmer preferences. The PRA established the high rating the peasant farmers gave to finger millet among crop enterprises, using it for food, cash, brewing, ceremonies and medicinal purposes. Farmers cultivated many varieties ranging from five to nine in a district, but each district had its own popular variety. Farmers used the following criteria to select new cultivars: high yield potential; early maturity; resistance to blast disease, Striga, birds, drought, and lodging; large head size, dark grain colour, and good taste. This probably indicated the willingness of farmers to adopt new varieties. Farmers identified constraints to production as blast disease, Striga, wild FM, birds, rats, termites, lack of market, labour shortage, and low yield. The farmers’ variety selection criteria and production constraints underscored the need to improve finger millet varieties. Evaluation of 310 accessions for trait variability and association conducted during 2005 long rain (LR) season at two sites revealed wide variation among the accessions for yield and secondary traits. The best accessions grain yield was above the yield potential of 5,000- 6,000kg ha-1 reported in other environments. Accessions KNE 072 (7,833kg ha-1), GBK 028463 (7,085kg ha-1), GBK 029661 (6,666kg ha-1) and FMBT ACC#42 (6,566kg ha-1) were outstanding. The data showed the opportunity to select for yield directly because of its wide variability but indirect selection could also be used to exploit seedling vigour as shown by its high correlation to yield and direct and indirect positive effects on yield through plant height and single plant yield in path analysis. The wide genetic variability among the genotypes for several traits indicated high potential to breed new and better finger millet varieties. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Using technology as an entry point, I employ the concept of the ecology of practice as a lens to interpret a specific food security intervention on small millets –neglected and underutilized crops important to rainfed agriculture. The “Revalorizing small millets: Enhancing the food and nutritional security of women and children in rainfed regions of South Asia using underutilized species (RESMISA)” project objectives each evoked technology to: increase production, decrease women’s drudgery, and increase the status of small millets. I examine networks of actors, ecologies and technologies in the Nepal project sites using a multi-sited ethnographic approach. Analyzing three types of technologies (seed, machines and practices), I found divergences between natural and social scientists’ perceptions on technology development. Interests differed among the worldviews of smallholder farmers that the researchers sought to engage as participants. Understanding practices in specific ecologies matters as research for development efforts seek to close the technology adoption gap.