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![Tef
[Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter]
2
By many measurements tef is Ethiopia’s most important crop
Proudly Ethiopian
• Cultivated since
4,000 – 1,000 BC
• Traditional ingredient
of national bread
(injira)
• Accounts for largest
area covered by any
crop in the country
Physically Unique
• 1000 seeds = 0.3-0.4g
• Adaptable to range of
soil types and climates
• Draught resistant
Nutritious Food
• High in protein
• Rich in minerals
(iron, calcium, zinc and
magnesium)
• Minute in size, but
packed with a giant
nutritional content.
• Gluten free
• Straw is preferred
livestock fodder
Introduction
Farmer Livelihood
• Grown by over 6 million
farmer households
• Greatest production
value of any crop in
Ethiopia](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/rowplantingintef-131011023923-phpapp02/85/Row-planting-in-tef-3-320.jpg)
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Row planting in tef
- 1. Row Planting inTef Experiences of the MoA & ATA Roll-Out Oct 9th, 2013 By: Zewdie G/Tsadik Tef, “from plant to plate”
- 2. 1. Introduction totef 2. Current state of tef production 3. Development of tef technology package 4. Results of tef technology package 5. Plans moving forward 1 Outline
- 3. Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.)Trotter] 2 By many measurements tef is Ethiopia’s most important crop Proudly Ethiopian • Cultivated since 4,000 – 1,000 BC • Traditional ingredient of national bread (injira) • Accounts for largest area covered by any crop in the country Physically Unique • 1000 seeds = 0.3-0.4g • Adaptable to range of soil types and climates • Draught resistant Nutritious Food • High in protein • Rich in minerals (iron, calcium, zinc and magnesium) • Minute in size, but packed with a giant nutritional content. • Gluten free • Straw is preferred livestock fodder Introduction Farmer Livelihood • Grown by over 6 million farmer households • Greatest production value of any crop in Ethiopia
- 5. 4 Technologies were developedto address prevalent tef yield inhibitors including high seed rates and soil nutrient deficiencies High Seed Rates Row Planting Transplanting Soil Nutrient Deficiencies Blended Fertilizer Yield Inhibitors Tef Technology Solutions Increased grain yields Increased straw yields Reduced cost of seed Increased grain yields Increased straw yields Reduced cost of seed Increased grain yields Increased straw yields • High seeding rates increase plant density causing plants to compete for water, soil nutrients and sunlight. Under these conditions tef plants have no chance to show their potential. • The shift from broadcasting the seed to row planting can reduce seeding rates to 3- 5kg/ha & improve grain & straw yields. Plant development is limited by deficient essential nutrients Tef Technology Package Examples of how two tef technologies are addressing yield inhibitors
- 6. 5 Over three yearstef technologies have experienced aggressive scale up in response to promising results 2011 2012 2013 1,500 farmers 90 FTCs 167,000 farmers 1,100 FTCs ~1.1 million farmers Highlights of tef technology package: • Reduced seed rate (via transplanting or row planting) • Improved seed • Proper fertilizer application • 2-3cm seed sowing depth • ATA founded with emphasis on tef • 180 DAs from MoA and 6 MSc students work with ATA and farmers to test technology package • Scale up of technology with MoA, ATA, RBoAs, EIAR, R ARIs, RSEs, ESE • 15,800 farmers and 1,100 FTCs monitored to assess yield impact • Intensive scale up is underway in 160 woredas implemented by RBoAs and MoA • Impact assessment using random sampling & crop cutting. Tef Technology Package Scope: Description: Year:
- 7. 6 20.1 18.3 15.514.9 13.9 12.012.6 +10% +18% +4%+7% +16% Average yields byexperimental plot across regions Quintal/hectare Planting type National Average for 2012 Broadcast by hand Broadcast by hand Broadcast by hand Broadcast by machine Row plant Transplant Seed rate (kg/ha) 30-50 30-50 5-10 5-10 5-10 0.5-0.7 Fertilizer type DAP + Urea DAP + Urea DAP + Urea DAP + Urea DAP + Urea DAP + Urea Seed type Local Quncho Quncho Quncho Quncho Quncho Source: 2012 Data from Regional, Zonal and Woreda administration staff (collected Feb-April 2013); CSA 2012 In 2012 FTC plots Quncho and Row Planting were reported as the largest drivers of yield increase Results
- 8. 7 Distribution of yielddata for 2012 shows that 30% of all validating farmers surveyed experienced yield increase between 20 and 80% over the national average Source: 2012 Data from Regional, Zonal and Woreda administration staff (collected Feb-April 2013) Note: Includes data from 14,605 farmers (omitted error/outlier data from 15,790 total collected) Distribution of Validating Farmers’ yields Frequency of yield increase (as % of total data set) 4 7 6 8 10 8 13 11 7 150 - 200% 125 - 150% 100 - 125% 80 - 100% 60 - 80%40 - 60% Over 200% 20 - 40%10 - 20%Less than 10% 27 ~30% of farmers saw a 20 – 80% yield increase Farmers who broadcasted, used high seed rates, or may have experienced challenges with new technologies ~20% of farmers saw a 100 – 200% yield increase (~60% of this group row planted) Results
- 9. 8 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 2000 2927 3540 4250 4526 6260 6631 Grain yield(kg/ha) using transplanting, micro & macronutrient fertilizers Results Source: Tareke & Zewdie, SG2000 (2010) unpublished Different combinations of fertilizers have significant yield impacts on transplanted tef
- 11. 10 Properly implemented technologiesproduce visual results that farmers can see Transplanted in row High tillering capacity Panicles heavy with seedHigh seed rate & lodging Results Field day visitResults of technology are visualTef planted in rows
- 12. 11 Next Steps Tef stakeholdersshould continue to refine and promote tef technology package beyond the targets of 2013. Planned vs Achieved number of row planting farmers in ATA targeted woreda clusters On-going 2013 ATA activities related to tef technologies Number of tef row planting farmers is increasing reaching 1,158,000 participant farmers and covering 365,000 hectares of land MoA & ATA promoted the technologies to farmers via trainings, manuals, flyers etc. The 2013 TC deliverable is to achieve 50% productivity increase for 1.6 M technology adopting farmers
- 13. 12 Next Steps a Performance oftransplanted tef in the field: a) 28 day-old seedlings ready for transplant; b) waterlogged field ready for transplant; c) ten days after transplanting @ 10X20cm inter and intra-rows; d) three weeks after t/p e) Panicles at grain filling stage b c d e Farmers perceive transplanting to be labour intensive, thus more research should be conducted around simplifying the planting method. Transplanting in its current form is best suited for geographies with: • short main season rainfall is short • waterlogged soils • high weed infestation More research is needed on transplanting to assess the economic trade-offs of the labour intensive technology Need to refine transplanting method:
- 14. 13 Conclusion The recommendedtef technologies of 2012 increased average yields across regions for validating farmers by 70% compared to national yield averages reported by the CSA. These yield increases were similar to those demonstrated in 2011 with a narrower group of targeted farmers. It thus appears that the technology package used in 2012 is scalable to larger targeted farmer numbers. Furthermore, there was high yield variance among validating farmers with some farmers experiencing yields of more than 400%, indicating potential productivity to be tapped. The highest validating farmers after cleaning the data was 59 quintals/ha. This suggests that with more consistent plot management there is further potential for yield increases from the average achieved in 2012. Field visits through the large-scale demonstration revealed farmers’ hesitancy to reduce seed rates from their regular practices. Reducing seed rates was perceived as a risky practice that may not result in improved yields.
- 15.