Why Is Sorghum Called the Food of the Future?

Water Footprint

A water footprint is the total volume of fresh water needed to grow & process an ingredient until it is ready to eat.

• 1,500–2,500mm of water per growing season

  Sugarcane

  Sugarcane needs about 3–4 times as much water per growing season as sorghum (FAO).

  Needs 1,500–2,500 mm of water in one growing season (FAO).

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  1,500–2,500

  mm of water per growing season

  ✕

  Sugarcane's water needs

  • Sugarcane: 1,500–2,500 mm per total growing period.
  • Sorghum/millet: 450–650 mm.
  • Midpoints: 2,000 mm vs 550 mm, about 3.6 times.

  Crop water need per season (mm), not a water footprint per kg of sugar.

  Sources

  • FAO — Crop Water Needs, Table 14
• ≈72%less water per season than sugarcane

  Sorghum

  For one growing season, sorghum needs 450–650 mm of water, far below sugarcane (FAO).

  Needs only about 1/3 of the water of sugarcane in one growing season.

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  ≈72%

  less water per season than sugarcane

  ✕

  The difference in water needs

  • Sorghum midpoint: 550 mm; sugarcane midpoint: 2,000 mm.
  • (2,000 − 550) ÷ 2,000 × 100 = 72.5%.

  A comparison of crop water needs, not a claim of water saved per kg of sugar or per Sorghumin product.

  Sources

  • FAO — Crop Water Needs, Table 14
• 450mm minimum water per season

  Drought-Tolerant

  FAO rates sorghum's sensitivity to drought as low.

  Sorghum can grow on water-scarce land.

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  450

  mm minimum water per season

  ✕

  Drought tolerant

  • Sorghum/millet water needs start at 450 mm per total growing period.
  • Drought sensitivity: low (FAO).

  Sources

  • FAO — Crop Water Needs, Table 14
• 1.85–2.54 msorghum root depth

  Prevents Erosion

  Sorghum roots reach about 2 metres into the soil (field studies in Kansas, USA).

  Sorghum roots keep the soil structure intact.

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  1.85–2.54 m

  sorghum root depth

  ✕

  Deep roots

  • Manhattan, Kansas: maximum sorghum rooting depth averaged 1.85 m (2 years).
  • Tribune, Kansas: end-of-season sorghum rooting depth averaged 2.54 m (3 years).

  This is rooting depth, not a measure of how much erosion is prevented. Results on Indonesian soils may differ.

  Sources

  • Stone et al. (2001) — Rooting front and water depletion depths in grain sorghum and sunflower (FAO AGRIS)
  • Stone et al. (2002) — Water depletion depth of grain sorghum and sunflower in the Central High Plains (FAO AGRIS)
• ≤0.45kg CO₂e per kg sorghum (300 farms, Kenya)

  Low Emissions

  Across 300 rain-fed sorghum farms in Kenya, the carbon footprint ranged from −1.29 to 0.45 kg CO₂e per kg of sorghum.

  Climate-adaptive and supports low-emission farming.

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  ≤0.45

  kg CO₂e per kg sorghum (300 farms, Kenya)

  ✕

  Carbon footprint of growing sorghum

  • Study of 300 rain-fed sorghum smallholdings in western Kenya: −1.29 to +0.45 kg CO₂e per kg of sorghum, depending on inputs and soil carbon.
  • The negative values apply to some systems only; not all sorghum is carbon-negative.
  • Flooded rice paddies produce about 8% of man-made methane worldwide (FAO). Dryland sorghum has no paddy-flooding methane, but fertiliser, energy and production still cause emissions.

  Farm-level data, not a life-cycle assessment (LCA) of Sorghumin products. Sorghumin does not claim to cut emissions by any amount.

  Sources

  • Musafiri et al. (2023) — Carbon footprint of smallholder rain-fed sorghum cropping systems of Kenya, Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy
  • FAO — Methane emissions in livestock and rice systems (2023)

Preserve world-class local food with Sorghumin!

• 10.84 Mtonnes of wheat & meslin imported (2025)

  Reduce Imports

  In 2025 Indonesia imported 10.84 million tonnes of wheat & meslin; local crops like sorghum add more choice.

  Prevents dependence on imported wheat.

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  10.84 M

  tonnes of wheat & meslin imported (2025)

  ✕

  Indonesia's wheat imports

  • Wheat & meslin grain imports 2025: 10,837.5 thousand tonnes (BPS).
  • Food diversification based on local resources is set out in Presidential Regulation 81/2024.

  Sorghumin does not claim to have reduced imports by any amount.

  Sources

  • BPS — Impor biji gandum & meslin
  • Perpres No. 81 Tahun 2024
• 62%of Indonesian farmers are smallholders (2023)

  Support Farmers

  17.25 million of 27.80 million land-using farmers work less than 0.5 ha—market demand for local crops matters to them.

  Creates jobs & improves the welfare of local farmers.

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  62%

  of Indonesian farmers are smallholders (2023)

  ✕

  Smallholder farmers in Indonesia

  • 17,251,432 smallholder farmers (land < 0.5 ha).
  • 27,802,434 land-using farmers.
  • 17,251,432 ÷ 27,802,434 × 100 ≈ 62.05%.

  Smallholder is a land-size class, not a measure of welfare. National figures, not Sorghumin partner farmers.

  Sources

  • BPS — ST2023, petani gurem & pengguna lahan