Niger is indigenous to Ethiopia where it is grown in rotation with cereals and pulses. The African and Indian genepools have diverged into distinct types. On both continents niger germplasm has been collected and evaluated, and is mostly conserved and documented at the Biodiversity Institute of Ethiopia and the Indian National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (including zonal centres). The Ethiopian germplasm is collected from farmers’ fields and does not include breeding lines. In this monograph the major germplasm characterizations and evaluations at Holetta, Ethiopia and Jabalpur, India are summarized. Available recent literature
on niger genetic resources is reviewed, and the prospects and constraints of niger production are indicated