Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part D (2025)

Sorghum, cultivated across more than 40 million hectares globally, has long been considered a “climate-smart” cereal due to its tolerance of drought and heat. Yet its socio-economic dimensions remain underexplored compared to its agronomic traits. For millions of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and parts of Latin America, sorghum is both a subsistence staple and a source of income. As climate change intensifies production risks, the adoption of climate-resilient sorghum farming practices carries implications not only for yield stability but also for rural livelihoods, gender equity, and food security. Drawing on global production data, World Bank livelihood assessments, and FAO rural poverty reports, this paper examines the socio-economic drivers and barriers shaping smallholder adaptation. Case studies from Nigeria, India, and Brazil illustrate how sorghum farming intersects with household income, livestock feed security, and rural employment. The findings reveal that climate-resilient sorghum is less about genetic traits alone and more about enabling socio-economic systems—markets, policies, and institutions—that allow smallholders to benefit from its resilience.