The center of diversity, and suggested area of domestication, for the crop is in the Sahel zone of West Africa.

[2] Recent archaeobotanical research has confirmed the presence of domesticated pearl millet on the Sahel zone of northern Mali between 2500 and 2000 BC.

Sona in Fur Language of Darfur, Sudan, kasab " قصب" in arabic libyan dialect, and draa "درع" in arabic Tunisian dialect Pearl millet is well adapted to growing areas characterized by drought, low soil fertility, low moisture, and high temperature.

Because of its tolerance to difficult growing conditions, it can be grown in areas where other cereal crops, such as maize or wheat, would not survive.

In Rajasthani cuisine bajre ki khatti rabdi is a traditional dish made with pearl millet flour and yogurt.

Flatbreads made of pearl millet flour, known as bajhar ji maani or bajre ki roti (बाजरे की रोटी) in Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, bajrichi bhakri (बाजरीची भाकरी) in Maharashtra and bajra no rotlo (બાજરા નો રોટલો) in Gujarat, India, are served with various types of kadhi and bhaaji in meals.

[10] It is currently unknown how it made its way to India,[10] but it likely arrived originally from across Africa, and via the Red Sea during Indus Valley Trade networks.

Sajje is milled and used for making flatbread called 'sajje rotti' and is eaten with yennegai (stuffed brinjal) and yogurt.

It is the second important food for Tamil people consumed predominantly in the hot humid summer months from February through May every year.

The second largest producer of pearl millet and the first to start cultivation, Africa has been successful in bringing back this lost[citation needed] crop.

It is a main staple (along with sorghum) in a large region of northern Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

It is often ground into a flour, rolled into large balls, parboiled, liquefied into a watery paste using fermented milk, and then consumed as a beverage.

In Namibia, pearl millet is locally known as "mahangu" and is grown mainly in the north of that country, where it is the staple food.

The floor of the pounding area is covered with a concrete-like coating made from the material of termite mounds.

vagans, Aphis gossypii, Forda hirsuta, F. orientalis, Geoica utricularia, Hysteroneura setariae, Melanaphis sacchari, Protaphis middletonii, Rhopalosiphum maidis, R. rufiabdominale, Schizaphis graminum, Sipha elegans, Sipha maydis, Sitobion avenae, Sit.

[24]: 93 The larvae of several insect species, primarily belonging to the orders Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Hemiptera, as well as Orthoptera adults, are persistent pearl millet pests in the Sahel.

[28][29] Grasshoppers that frequently attack millets in the Dogon country of Mali are Oedaleus senegalensis, Kraussaria angulifera, Cataloipus cymbiferus, and Diabolocatantops axillaris.

[28] In northern Ghana, Poophilus costalis (spittle bug) is reported as a millet pest, as well as Dysdercus volkeri, Heliocheilus albipunctella, Coniesta ignefusalis, and caterpillars of Amsacta moloneyi and Helicoverpa armigera.