The major constraints to production include disease susceptibility of local varieties, environmental stresses, drought, diseases, pests, and poor crop management. In 1994, world production was 7.9 million tons from 10.2 million hectares, of which 97 percent was from developing countries. For the 1992 to 1994 three-year production average, Asia accounted for 76 percent of production, Africa 3 percent, and Latin America and the Caribbean each for 3 percent. Yields have shown a steady increase of about 0.5 percent annually over the past two decades. People use the seeds whole, dehulled, or as flour.
Some people eat the immature shoots and seed as vegetables.
The protein content of the seed is about 20 percent. This represents about 1.9 percent of the total commodity investment. This leads to poor yields because the crop faces drought and heat stresses. April 29, 1997. Singh, K.B. and Saxena, M.C. 1996.