In Mali, agriculture is the main source of employment. Over 80% of the population is engaged in agriculture that is mostly carried out by small farmers with income of less than US$1 per day. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is an important cereal grain used as food and animal fodder (dual-purpose sorghum). Sorghum is predominantly grown in sole or in mixture with cowpea, peanut or maize in the Sudanian zones. The main constraints to sorghum production are low soil fertility and low and erratic rainfall exacerbated by climate change.

Animal production represents 10% of the GDP. The main constraint to animal productions is the limited availability of suitable feeds. Especially in the dry season, the nutritive value, the protein content and dry matter intake of range-land forages are very low. Legume residues are needed to complement proteins provided by cereal straw. Cowpeas for dual grain and fodder use are increasingly being demanded by farmers. So far, no agronomy research has been undertaken specifically to optimize value of grain and fodder in sole or intercrop sorghumcowpea systems. Therefore, research has been conducted under the project “Dual-Purpose Sorghum and Cowpeas: Opening the Window for Crop-Livestock Intensification by Combining Grain and Improved Crop Residues”, which is financed by the Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP) of the McKnight Foundation.