0940 Recent Developments in Teff, Ethiopia's Most Important Cereal and Gift to the World

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TEFF, ETHIOPIA’S MOST IMPORTANT CEREAL AND GIFT TO THE WORLD
TarekeBerhe ( Ph. D )
t.berhe@vip.cgnet.com
CIIFAD Forum Seminar, July 23, 2009

OUTLINE
I. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF TEFF
II. DIETARY IMPORTANCE OF TEFF
III. PRODUCTION DIFFICULTIES OF TEFF
IV. UNEXPLOITED POTENTIALS & RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS
V. WHAT NEXT?

I. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF TEFF

TEFF: THE MOST IMPORTANT STAPLE FOOD CROP OF ETHIOPIA
IN ETHIOPIA ALONE:
Over 2.5 metric tons of grain produced/year
Staple food for over 50 million people

TEFF IS THE MAJOR CEREALOF ETHIOPIA COVERING OVER 2.5 MILLION HECTARES/YEAR

TEFF OCCUPIES A LARGE PLACE IN THE GRAIN MARKET
Current price of teff grain in Ethiopia = $700-1000/ton
Current price of teff flour in the USA = $2,990/ton

II. NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF TEFF

MERITS OF TEFF
WIDE ADAPTATION: Grows in range of altitudes, temperatures, soils, water regimes = significant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses
MINIMAL STORAGE PROBLEMS
FOOD SECURITY CROP FOR ETHIOPIAN FARMERS
VERY NUTRITIOUS: high in Fe, Ca, and lysine with good balance of amino acids
NO GLUTEN, LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX: Being developed as a health food in Europe and USA

TEFF ENJARA: ETHIOPIANS’ DAILY BREAD

TEFF STRAW IS A COMMERCIAL PRODUCT: Livestock Feed and for Construction

III. PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS OF TEFF

PROBLEM # 1 IN TEFF
LOW YIELD
ETHIOPIA: National ave. = < 1ton/hectare
Maximum yield = 2.5 tons/ha
2. Holland and USA (Idaho): 1.3 – 2.5 tons/ha

MAIN CAUSES
LODGING DUE TO HIGH
PLANTING DENSITY
25-50 LBS/ACRE IN ETHIOPIA VS. 2.5 -3.0 LBS/ACRE IN EUROPE AND USA
LONG PEDUNCLE
TEFF RUST (Uromyces sp.)

PROBLEM # 2CULTURAL PRACTICES: All Manual– Labor Intensive
LAND PREPARATION
WEED CONTROL
HARVESTING
THRESHING

PROBLEM # 3: Politics
RESTRICTIONS ON MATERIAL TRANSFER
OPPOSITION TO BIOTECHNOLOGY
LOW INVESTMENT BY GOVERNMENT

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES/TOOLS/TECHNIQUES UNDER TEST
REDUCTION OF PLANT DENSITY
USE OF TRANSPLANTING TECHNIQUES
USE OF IRRIGATION FOR OFF-SEASON CROP
USE OF MORE COMPLETE FERTILIZERS WITH MICRONUTRIENTS
USE OF CONVENTIONAL & NON–CONVENTIONAL (GYNOGENESIS) BREEDING TO SPEED UP VARIETY DEVELOPMENT

IV. UNEXPLOITED POTENTIALS
AGRONOMY– System of Teff Intensification ( STI )
BREEDING – Conventional and Non-Conventional
MECHANIZATION: Planting, Harvesting, Threshing
UTILIZATION: Cereal Mixtures (e.g., rice or grain amaranth) to Reduce Pressure on Teff

TAREKE BERHE, 1979, SCOTTS BLUFF, NE
HAILU TEFERRA
2000, DZ, ETHIOPIA

SPACE IN PLANTING AND IN ROWS, DEBRE ZEIT, 2008

HIGH-TILLERING TRAIT IN TEFF WHEN TRANSPLANTED WITH WIDER SPACING

FIRST TRIALS, 2008 –Duplication of Earlier Findings
YIFRU ( 1998 )
M. Sc. THESIS
Reported yield of 4-5 tons/ha for
non-lodged teff
vs.
2-3 t/ha for lodged teff

SECOND TRIALS, 2009COMPOUND FERTILIZER + SPACINGVariety: DZ-01-974 (3 replications I-III)
* YIELD LEVELS NEVER REPORTED BEFORE

PELLETING DAP PROVED EASIER THAN PELLETING TEFF SEEDS

TEFF FERTILIZER POT EXPERIMENTS

IRRIGATED TEFF: OFF-SEASON

NEW TOOL: GYNOGENESIS

GOOD GYNO GENOTYPES NOTED IN THE FIELD

GYNO TEFF EXPERIMENTS - DEBRE ZEIT, 2009

MECHANIZATION

UTILIZATION & COMPANION CROPS
GRAIN AMARANTHE
NERICA RICE

COMPANION CROPS CAN BE MIXED WITH TEFF TO MAKE ENJARA

V. WHAT NEXT?
POSSIBLE DONORS
McKnight Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
AGRA
Sasakawa African Assoc.
PUT ALL PROMISING TECHNOLOGIES TO WORK
FULL TIME IN ETHIOPIA
FULL TIME IN USA
ETHIOPIA:USA – 50:50

BON APPETIT TO EVERYONE
THE END

http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu	769
http://ciifad.cornell.edu	42
http://www.slideshare.net	9
http://srinew.netai.net	6
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com	1
http://srinew.herobo.com	1
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	1

0940 Recent Developments in Teff, Ethiopia's Most Important Cereal and Gift to the World

by SRI-Rice, CIIFAD, Cornell University

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

7 Embeds 829

Statistics

0940 Recent Developments in Teff, Ethiopia’s Most Important Cereal and Gift to the World Presentation Transcript