A diagnostic appraisal of the sorghum farming system and breeding priorities in Striga infested agro-ecologies of Ethiopia

•Major sorghum production constraints were identified and prioritized.•Sorghum landraces available in the study areas were identified and characterized.•Based on farmers’ knowledge, they prefer more of land races than improved varieties.•Farmers scored preference traits on sorghum varieties for breeding priority issues.•Importance of farmers’ participation and use of landraces has been revealed. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolour L. Moench) is a globally important food security crop, particularly in arid and semi-arid environments. Sorghum productivity is low in subsistence farming systems due to biotic, abiotic and socio-economic constraints. The objective of this study was to determine farmers’ sorghum production opportunities, threats, indigenous knowledge and perceptions with a focus on breeding priorities Striga infestations and the farmers’ coping mechanisms in different agro-ecologies in Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling method was employed to interview 315 households selected from nine districts of three administrative zones within two provinces. Participatory rural appraisal tools including a structured questionnaire, pair-wise ranking, focus group discussion, and observations through a transect walk were used to collect data. The results showed that the majority of the participant farmers, (86%) were involved in sorghum production. In all study areas sorghum landraces were preferred by >85% of respondents rather than improved released varieties. Farmers listed and prioritized several sorghum production constraints based on importance and severity. The constraints varied among the study areas due to the diversity of agro-ecologies and cropping systems. Results from the pair-wise ranking showed that farmers’ have variable preferences for sorghum varieties. At the north Shewa and north Wello zones drought resistance was the most farmers-preferred trait, followed by Striga resistance. In the Metekel zone Striga resistance was the number one farmer-preferred trait, followed by grain quality. The prioritised traits will form the basis for farmer-oriented sorghum breeding.