Trade vulnerability assessment in the grain-importing countries: A case study of China.

Since the 2008 global food crisis, food security vulnerability has been a prominent topic in the food policy debate. However, vulnerability is inherently difficult to conceptualize and is more challenging to operationalize and measure. This study constructs a mathematical model and takes China as a case study to measure the vulnerability and sensitivity of China with its partners in the international grain trade. The results show that 1) the degree of interdependence between China and its grain trading partners is asymmetric, which generates trade vulnerability or economic power; 2) the vulnerability of China's food trade shows a high spatiotemporal heterogeneity among countries: the higher vulnerability zones are concentrated in North America and Northeast Asia, and the scope of the higher vulnerability zones tends to expand; 3) Our results also reveal that China also has different sensitivities to fluctuations in grain markets from different countries, and the higher sensitive zones of the grain trade in China are mainly distributed in America, Europe, and Oceania. The main contribution of this paper is the development of a methodology for food trade vulnerability assessment and examines the influence of international food trade on food security in importing countries, measured using the vulnerability index and sensitivity index. Nevertheless, the conclusions of this study can be considered preliminary, and there remains great potential for future studies to deepen and broaden our analyses further.

Grains on the brain: A survey of dog owner purchasing habits related to grain-free dry dog foods.

Grain-free pet food options abound in the pet food market today, representing more than 40% of available dry dog foods in the United States. There is currently a dearth of information about the factors that contribute to a dog owner's choice of a grain-free dry dog food and if those factors are similar among countries. Therefore, the primary objective of the current survey was to identify the variables that are predictive of a dog owner's choice of a grain-free dry food across North America (Canada and the United States) and Europe (France, the United Kingdom and Germany). The survey consisted of 69 questions, took less than 15 minutes to complete and was distributed virtually via Qualtrics (Qualtrics XM, Utah, USA). A total of 3,298 responses were collected, equally distributed between countries. Multinomial logistic regression was performed in SPSS Statistics (Version 26, IBM Corp, North Castle, New York, USA). Male respondents, people from France, people who ranked the importance of ingredients in a pet food in the lower quartiles and people who do not rotate their dog's diet to provide variety were less likely to select 'no grain' when choosing a pet food. In contrast, people who believe that their dog has a food allergy, follow more than 5 specific dietary routines in their own diet, do not try to include grains in their own diet, get their information about pet food from online resources or pet store staff and look for specific claims on pet food (such as 'no fillers'), were all more likely to select 'no grain' when choosing a pet food. This survey provides insight into the similarities and differences in decision making among dog owners in North America and Europe and should be considered when exploring the effects of grain-free dog foods on canine health and well-being.

Reduced pests, improved grain quality and greater total income: benefits of intercropping rice with Pontederia cordata.

BACKGROUND: Intercropping, which is growing two or more different crops in the same field simultaneously, is an effective traditional agricultural practice for productivity, resource utilization, and pest control. However, study on intercropping in paddy fields is limited. So in this study, field experiments of 2 years/four seasons (early and late seasons in 2016 and 2017) were conducted to examine the effects of rice-Pontederia cordata intercropping on rice plant growth, pest control, yield, income, and grain quality. RESULTS: We found rice-P. cordata intercropping significantly decreased the occurrence of rice diseases and pests, with a 22.0-45.9% reduction in sheath blight and a 33.8-34.4% reduction in leaf folders. The mean land equivalent ratio (LER) (1.09) result indicates that intercropping rice and P. cordata generated positive yield effects. In addition, due to the economic profit from the replacement stripe of P. cordata in the rice paddy field, intercropping rice with P. cordata could greatly enhance farmer income. The average total income of rice intercropped with P. cordata was 2.5-fold higher than that of rice monoculture. Furthermore, intercropping significantly improved grain quality compared with the rice monoculture. It significantly increased the milled rice rate and whole milled rice rate by 11.2% and 12.8%, respectively, but decreased the chalky rice rate by 30.9-39.8% and chalkiness degree by 32.2%. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that rice-P. cordata intercropping provides an environmentally effective way to control rice diseases and pests, results in higher overall productivity and total income, and improves grain quality. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Incentives to Stimulate European Wheat Farmers to Adapt Their Fusarium Species Mycotoxin Management.

Fusarium species infection in wheat can lead to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) and contamination with mycotoxins. To fully exploit more recent insights into FHB and mycotoxin management, farmers might need to adapt their agronomic management, which can be stimulated through incentives. This study aimed to identify incentives to stimulate European farmers to adapt their agronomic management to reduce FHB and related mycotoxins in wheat. A questionnaire was distributed among 224 wheat farmers from Italy, the Netherlands, Serbia, and the United Kingdom. Using the respondents' data, Bayesian Network modelling was applied to estimate the probability that farmers would adapt their current agronomic management under eight different incentives given the conditions set by their farm and farmer characteristics. Results show that most farmers would adapt their current agronomic management under the incentives "paid extra when wheat contains low levels of mycotoxins" and "wheat is tested for the presence of mycotoxins for free". The most effective incentive depended on farm and farmer characteristics, such as country, crop type, size of arable land, soil type, education, and mycotoxin knowledge. Insights into the farmer characteristics related to incentives can help stakeholders in the wheat supply chain, such as farmer cooperatives and the government, to design tailor-made incentive plans.

Postharvest practices, challenges and opportunities for grain producers in Arequipa, Peru.

Little is known about the major issues leading to postharvest losses in Peru, which are estimated to be 15-27%. We surveyed 503 farmers from the lowlands and Andean regions of Arequipa to learn more about the major grains produced and issues encountered during drying and storage. Rice, common bean, and quinoa were the most grown crops in the lowlands while starchy maize was the most cultivated crop in the highlands. Most farmers (90%) dried their crops in-field directly on the ground, which exposes them to rodents, birds, and insect pests. The majority of farmers (92%) used subjective methods to assess grain moisture content. About 77% of farmers identified insects as a major challenge during storage but only 44% said they used preventive measures such as the application of insecticides. Among farmers who stored grain, the main reason was for household consumption (61%); while among those who did not store, the main reason was the need for immediate cash at harvest (75%). Farmers who experienced insect problems, who stored seed or grain for sale, who stored longer, or farmers from the lowlands were more likely to apply insecticides on their stored products. These findings provide an opportunity for researchers, development organizations, and government agencies to improve postharvest handling and storage in Arequipa by disseminating drying technologies, moisture assessment tools and hermetic storage solutions among farmers.

Analysis of Glyphosate Residues in Foods from the Canadian Retail Markets between 2015 and 2017.

Underlying the risk management of pesticides to protect human health and to facilitate trade among nations are sound scientific data on the levels of compliance with standards set by governments and internationally from monitoring of the levels of pesticides in foods. Although glyphosate is among the universally used pesticides in the world, monitoring has been hampered by the analytical difficulties in dealing with this highly polar compound. Starting in 2015, using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) that permits accurate and reproducible determination of glyphosate, the prevalence, concentrations, and compliance rates were determined. In this work, the glyphosate residues contents of 7955 samples of fresh fruits and vegetables, milled grain products, pulse products, and finished foods collected from April 2015 to March 2017 in the Canadian retail market are reported. A total of 3366 samples (42.3%) contained detectable glyphosate residues. The compliance rate with Canadian regulations was 99.4%. There were 46 noncompliant samples. Health Canada determined that there was no long-term health risk to Canadian consumers from exposure to the levels of glyphosate found in the samples of a variety of foods surveyed. The high level of compliance (99.4% of samples with the Canadian regulatory limits) and the lack of a health risk for noncompliant samples indicate that, with respect to glyphosates, the food available for sale in Canada is safe.

Economics of Increasing Sorghum Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Mali Case.

Sorghum retains a crucial role in Sub-Saharan Africa for food and in the future feed. Unfortunately, the movement of sorghum technology onto farmers' fields in Sub-Saharan Africa has been slow in spite of substantial research since the great African drought of 1968-1973. What is necessary to get African sorghum yields and profitability up?After reviewing the situation of sorghum in the world, the USA, and Sub-Saharan Africa from 2007 to 2017 the results and the lessons of a twelve-year program in the Sahel of West Africa to introduce new sorghum technology and marketing strategies are the focus of the rest of the paper. In Mali, the program identified new technologies that were extended into a large number of farmers' associations. The Mali program then collaborated with two other agencies to scale up this pilot program. The pilot project demonstrated that yields with moderate fertilization, new varieties, and improved agronomic practices could be increased 50 to 100% and prices increased 30 to 50%. The 2012 military coup and then invasion of Al Queda from the north shut down both the pilot and the scaling up activities as the US government banned collaboration with Malian government agencies after the coup. The pilots were continued in Niger and Burkina Faso through 2014 and then with a Gates Foundation grant from 2014 to 2016. The pilot program in Mali responded to two of the three Second Generation problems identified. But more significantly the pilot project identified the lack of funds for responding to Second Generation problems as a major constraint for implementing a technology-marketing program in a low-income country.

WIC Households' Bread and Cold Cereal Purchases: When They Use Benefits Versus Paying Out of Pocket.

PURPOSE: The US Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) seeks to improve the health of participating women and children by providing nutrition education and a monthly package of supplemental foods including whole grain bread and cereal. While some studies confirm that participants consume more whole grains, others find no effect. In this study, we hypothesize that the positive association between WIC and whole grains is being reduced in size and consistency by several factors. DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: American households were surveyed about their food purchases. Overall response rate was 45.6%. A total of 4826 households completed the survey including 471 WIC households. MEASURES: The survey recorded households' purchases of refined and whole grains in bread and cereal over 1 week. ANALYSIS: T tests were used to compare the bread and cereal purchases of WIC and eligible, non-WIC households. Probit models were also estimated to assess a WIC household's likelihood to choose whole grain foods when using benefits versus other payment methods. RESULTS: On average, WIC households acquired more whole grains in bread than eligible, non-WIC households (1.33 vs 0.72 ounce equivalents per household member aged 1 year or older; P < .05). No difference is found for cereal ( P > .10). Moreover, when using payment methods other than WIC benefits, WIC participants are 19% less likely than other households to choose whole grain bread ( P < .05) and 20% less likely to choose a whole grain cold cereal ( P < .05), which suggests that WIC-provided foods may replace some whole grains participants would otherwise buy for themselves. CONCLUSION: WIC is positively associated with whole grains. However, the association is stronger for bread than cereal. Moreover, foods provided through the program may partially replace whole grains that WIC households would otherwise buy for themselves.

Exposure to Child-Directed TV Advertising and Preschoolers' Intake of Advertised Cereals.

INTRODUCTION: Child-directed TV advertising is believed to influence children's diets, yet prospective studies in naturalistic settings are absent. This study examined if child-directed TV advertisement exposure for ten brands of high-sugar breakfast cereals was associated with children's intake of those brands prospectively. METHODS: Observational study of 624 preschool-age children and their parents conducted in New Hampshire, 2014-2015. Over 1 year, parents completed a baseline and six online follow-up surveys, one every 8 weeks. Children's exposure to high-sugar breakfast cereal TV advertisements was based on the network-specific TV programs children watched in the 7 days prior to each follow-up assessment, and parents reported children's intake of each advertised high-sugar breakfast cereal brand during that same 7-day period. Data were analyzed in 2017-2018. RESULTS: In the fully adjusted Poisson regression model accounting for repeated measures and brand-specific effects, children with high-sugar breakfast cereal advertisement exposure in the past 7 days (i.e., recent exposure; RR=1.34, 95% CI=1.04, 1.72), at any assessment in the past (RR=1.23, 95% CI=1.06, 1.42), or recent and past exposure (RR=1.37, 95% CI=1.15, 1.63) combined had an increased risk of brand-specific high-sugar breakfast cereal intake. Absolute risk difference of children's high-sugar breakfast cereal intake because of high-sugar breakfast cereal TV advertisement exposure varied by brand. CONCLUSIONS: This naturalistic study demonstrates that child-directed high-sugar breakfast cereal TV advertising was prospectively associated with brand-specific high-sugar breakfast cereal intake among preschoolers. Findings indicate that child-directed advertising influences begin earlier and last longer than previously demonstrated, highlighting limitations of current industry guidelines regarding the marketing of high-sugar foods to children under age 6 years.

Socio-Ecological Barriers to Dry Grain Pulse Consumption among Low-Income Women: A Mixed Methods Approach.

The purpose of this study was to determine the socio-ecological influences on dry grain pulse consumption (beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas) among low-socioeconomic women in Iowa. Seven focus groups were conducted, with 36 women who qualified for income-based federal assistance. Data were collected from October 2017 to January 2018. Participants completed a survey that gathered individual demographics, assessed perceptions of dry grain pulses, and level of food security. Fifty-eight percent of the women were non-Hispanic white, and 39% were African American, all with an average age of 34.7 years. Thirty-three percent of the women consumed pulses less than once per week. Over 80% agreed that beans were healthful and satiating. Some health benefits of beans were unknown by more than 33% of the population, e.g., lower cancer risk, lower LDL, maintain blood glucose. Only 30% of the women were food secure. Focus group audio recordings were transcribed and analyzed by two researchers, using the grounded theory approach. At the policy level, participants knew pulses were included in USA federal nutrition assistance programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Pulses were widely available in grocery stores in communities. Interpersonally, women felt that male partners preferred meats, and children needed animal-source proteins. Individually, women perceived uncooked dry pulses were challenging to prepare. Conclusively, more detailed instruction on pulse preparation, different pulse varieties, and offering canned pulses through WIC may increase consumption.

Detecting Wheat Powdery Mildew and Predicting Grain Yield Using Unmanned Aerial Photography.

High-resolution aerial imaging with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to quantify wheat powdery mildew and estimate grain yield. Aerial digital images were acquired at Feekes growth stage (GS) 10.5.4 from flight altitudes of 200, 300, and 400 m during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons; and 50, 100, 200, and 300 m during the 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14 seasons. The image parameter lgR was consistently correlated positively with wheat powdery mildew severity and negatively with wheat grain yield for all combinations of flight altitude and year. Fitting the data with random coefficient regression models showed that the exact relationship of lgR with disease severity and grain yield varied considerably from year to year and to a lesser extent with flight altitude within the same year. The present results raise an important question about the consistency of using remote imaging information to estimate disease severity and grain yield. Further research is needed to understand the nature of interyear variability in the relationship of remote imaging data with disease or grain yield. Only then can we determine how the remote imaging tool can be used in commercial agriculture.

Economic Injury Levels and Economic Thresholds for Tibraca limbativentris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on Paddy Rice Based on Insect-Days.

The rice stalk stink bug Tibraca limbativentris Stal, 1860 (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is an important pest of paddy rice (Oryza sativa L.) in South America. Current records of economic injury levels (EILs) and economic thresholds (ETs) for this insect are scarce. In this study, we determined EILs and ETs through cumulative insect-days of T. limbativentris adults in two phenological stages of paddy rice. Five field trials were established for the 2015/16 and 2016/17 crop season. To evaluate the relationship between insect-day and yield, rice plants were infested at V4 and R2 with adult male-female pairs of T. limbativentris. Mixed linear models were fitted utilizing the year and block as random factors to estimate the damage to plant, irrespective of the interference of environmental factors. The yield loss per insect-day was then used to calculate EILs using current market values and control costs. Rice grain yields were reduced by 5.91 kg/ha for each insect-day/m2 when infested during V4 stage, with EILs ranging from 3.88 to 11.61 insect-days/m2, while infestation during R2 stage resulted in a yield reduction of 3.16 kg/ha, with EILs ranging from 8.05 to 21.72 insect-days/m2. The results indicate that yield losses of paddy rice due to T. limbativentris infestation vary according to plant phenological stages and management should consider control cost and market value of rice. These EILs and ETs based on insect-days may be an efficient strategy for decision-making in the management of T. limbativentris on paddy rice.

Future warming increases probability of globally synchronized maize production shocks.

Meeting the global food demand of roughly 10 billion people by the middle of the 21st century will become increasingly challenging as the Earth's climate continues to warm. Earlier studies suggest that once the optimum growing temperature is exceeded, mean crop yields decline and the variability of yield increases even if interannual climate variability remains unchanged. Here, we use global datasets of maize production and climate variability combined with future temperature projections to quantify how yield variability will change in the world's major maize-producing and -exporting countries under 2 °C and 4 °C of global warming. We find that as the global mean temperature increases, absent changes in temperature variability or breeding gains in heat tolerance, the coefficient of variation (CV) of maize yields increases almost everywhere to values much larger than present-day values. This higher CV is due both to an increase in the SD of yields and a decrease in mean yields. For the top four maize-exporting countries, which account for 87% of global maize exports, the probability that they have simultaneous production losses greater than 10% in any given year is presently virtually zero, but it increases to 7% under 2 °C warming and 86% under 4 °C warming. Our results portend rising instability in global grain trade and international grain prices, affecting especially the ∼800 million people living in extreme poverty who are most vulnerable to food price spikes. They also underscore the urgency of investments in breeding for heat tolerance.

Co-occurrence of mycotoxins in commercial formula milk and cereal-based baby food on the Qatar market.

The present study was conducted to explore the occurrence of mycotoxins in commercial baby foods in Doha-Qatar. LCMS/MS- and HPLC-based analysis of baby food (n = 67) for 12 mycotoxins confirmed the presence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1, 33%), ochratoxin A (OTA, 31%), deoxynivalenol (DON, 27%), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1, 22%), fumonisin B2 (FB2, 10%), zearalenone (ZEN, 4%) and T-2 toxin (2%). Noodles exhibited the maximum contamination percentage, with 33% of the samples being contaminated above the EU maximum limits, for at least one mycotoxin. Among the multi-grain flake samples, up to 28% and for the milk and milk-based-cereal samples, 14% contained at least one mycotoxin above the EU maximum limits. From all cereal-based food samples, 22%, 5%, 2% and 2% were concurrently contaminated with 2, 3, 4 and 5 mycotoxins, respectively. The occurrence of toxicological important mycotoxins in Qatari market warrants the implementation of strict regulatory limits to protect human health.

Mycotoxins in infant/toddler foods and breakfast cereals in the US retail market.

The objective of this study was to conduct a mycotoxin survey of commercial infant/toddler foods (cereals and teething biscuits) and breakfast cereals in the United States. A total of 215 retail samples were collected from three geographical locations and analysed for aflatoxins, fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, HT-2 toxin, ochratoxin A, T-2 toxin, and zearalenone using a stable isotope dilution liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. One or more mycotoxins were found in 69% (101/147) of the infant/toddler foods and 50% (34/68) of breakfast cereals. Mycotoxin co-occurrence was observed in 12% of infant/toddler foods and 32% of breakfast cereals. However, the concentrations of detected mycotoxins were lower than the current FDA action and guidance levels. Aflatoxins and HT-2 toxin were not detected in any of the samples, while deoxynivalenol was the most frequently detected mycotoxin. Rice-based cereals appeared to be less susceptible to mycotoxin contamination than other cereal types.

Healthcare Expenditure and Productivity Cost Savings from Reductions in Cardiovascular Disease and Type 2 Diabetes Associated with Increased Intake of Cereal Fibre among Australian Adults: A Cost of Illness Analysis.

An ageing population and growing prevalence of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are putting increased pressure on healthcare expenditure in Australia. A cost of illness analysis was conducted to assess the potential savings in healthcare expenditure and productivity costs associated with lower prevalence of CVD and T2D resulting from increased intake of cereal fibre. Modelling was undertaken for three levels of increased dietary fibre intake using cereal fibre: a 10% increase in total dietary fibre; an increase to the Adequate Intake; and an increase to the Suggested Dietary Target. Total healthcare expenditure and productivity cost savings associated with reduced CVD and T2D were calculated by gender, socioeconomic status, baseline dietary fibre intake, and population uptake. Total combined annual healthcare expenditure and productivity cost savings of AUD$17.8 million-$1.6 billion for CVD and AUD$18.2 million-$1.7 billion for T2D were calculated. Total savings were generally larger among adults of lower socioeconomic status and those with lower dietary fibre intakes. Given the substantial healthcare expenditure and productivity cost savings that could be realised through increases in cereal fibre, there is cause for the development of interventions and policies that encourage an increase in cereal fibre intake in Australia.

Glyphosate residues in Swiss market foods: monitoring and risk evaluation.

A total of 243 samples of diverse foodstuffs were analysed for glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) using a liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method with a relatively low limit of quantification in the range of 0.0005-0.0025 mg kg-1. Main contributors for dietary glyphosate and AMPA intake were cereals and pulses. The results suggest that pasta is a very important foodstuff for dietary glyphosate residue intake in Switzerland. Interestingly all samples of wine, fruit juice and nearly all samples of honey tested positive for glyphosate although at very low levels. A dietary risk assessment was conducted. Food products for analysis were not selected purely at random, rather products were selected for which high levels of glyphosate residues were suspected. However, even in samples where high residue levels were expected, no exceedances of maximum residue levels were found. Consequently, human exposure did not exceed neither acceptable daily intake nor acute reference dose. Therefore, glyphosate residues found in the sampled foodstuffs from the Swiss market were of no concern for human health.

Application of hydrolases and probiotic Pediococcus acidilactici BaltBio01 strain for cereal by-products conversion to bioproduct for food/feed.

The aim of this study was to apply the enzymatic treatment and fermentation by Pediococcus acidilactici BaltBio01 strain for industrial cereal by-products conversion to food/feed bioproducts with high amount of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB). LAB propagated in potato media and spray-dried remained viable during 12 months (7.0 log10 cfu/g) of storage and was used as a starter for cereal by-products fermentation. The changes of microbial profile, biogenic amines (BAs), mycotoxins, lactic acid (L+/D-), lignans and alkylresorcinols (ARs) contents in fermented cereal by-product were analysed. Cereal by-products enzymatic hydrolysis before fermentation allows to obtain a higher count of LAB during fermentation. Fermentation with P. acidilactici reduce mycotoxins content in fermented cereal by-products. According to our results, P. acidilactici multiplied in potato juice could be used for cereal by-products fermentation, as a potential source to produce safer food/feed bioproduct with high amount of probiotic LAB for industrial production.

Gluten-Free Foods in Rural Maritime Provinces: Limited Availability, High Price, and Low Iron Content.

We investigated the price difference between gluten-free (GF) and gluten-containing (GC) foods available in rural Maritime stores. GF foods and comparable GC items were sampled through random visits to 21 grocery stores in nonurban areas of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, Canada. Wilcoxon rank tests were conducted on price per 100 g of product, and on the price relative to iron content; 2226 GF foods (27.2% staple items, defined as breads, cereals, flours, and pastas) and 1625 GC foods were sampled, with an average ± SD of 66 ± 2.7 GF items per store in rural areas and 331 ± 12 in towns. The median price of GF items ($1.76/100 g) was more expensive than GC counterparts ($1.05/100 g) and iron density was approximately 50% less. GF staple foods were priced 5% higher in rural stores than in town stores. Although the variety of GF products available to consumers has improved, higher cost and lower nutrient density remain issues in nonurban Maritime regions. Dietitians working in nonurban areas should consider the relative high price, difficult access, and low iron density of key GF items, and work together with clients to find alternatives and enhance their food literacy.

Rates of return to sorghum and millet research investments: A meta-analysis.

Sorghum and millet grow in some of the most heterogeneous and austere agroecologies around the world. These crops are amongst the top five cereal sources of food and feed. Yet, few studies document the impact of sorghum and millet genetic enhancement. The Internal Rate of Return (ROR) is one of the most popular metrics used to measure the economic return on investment on agricultural research and development (R&D). This study conducted a meta-analysis of 59 sorghum and millet ROR estimates obtained from 25 sources published between 1958 and 2015. The average rate of return to sorghum and millet R&D investment is between 54-76 percent per year. All studies computed social rather than private RORs because the technologies were developed using public funds originating from host country National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) and international organizations such as the INTSORMIL CRSP, ICRISAT and others. Nearly three quarter of the studies focused only on sorghum (72 percent) and around one tenth of the studies (8 percent) on millet. Regression models analyzed the determinants of variation in the reported RORs. Results show that ex-ante type and self-evaluated type of analyses are positively and significantly associated with the ROR estimates. Compared to estimates conducted by a university, results from international institutions and other mixed organizations provided significantly smaller estimates. Estimates conducted at national level also are significantly lower than those conducted at sub-national levels. The ROR is higher for studies conducted in the United States and for those conducted more recently. The study also reconstructed modified internal rate of return (MIRR) for a sub-sample of the reported RORs following recent methods from the literature. These results show that the MIRR estimates are significantly smaller than the reported ROR estimates. Both results indicate that investment in sorghum and millet research generates high social rates of return.