Lost Crops of Africa: Teff

Tef (Eragrostis tef) is a significant crop in only one country in the world—Ethiopia. There, however, its production exceeds that of most other cereals. Each year, Ethiopian farmers plant almost 1.4 million hectares of tef,¹ and they produce 0.9 million tons of grain, or about a quarter of the country's total cereals.²

The grain is especially popular in the western provinces, where people prefer it to all other cereals and eat it once or twice (occasionally three times) every day. In that area, tef contributes about two-thirds of the protein to a typical diet.

Most tef is made into injera, a flat, spongy, and slightly sour bread that looks like a giant bubbly pancake the size of a serving tray. People tear off pieces and use them to scoop up spicy stews that constitute the main meals. For the middle and upper classes it is the preferred staple; for the poor it is a luxury they generally cannot afford.

Unlike many of the species in this book, tef is not in decline. Indeed, farmers have steadily increased their plantings in recent years. The area cultivated rose from less than 40 percent of Ethiopia's total cereal area in 1960 to more than 50 percent in 1980.

Tef is so overwhelmingly important in Ethiopia that its absence elsewhere is a mystery. The plant can certainly be grown in many countries. Some has long been produced for food in Yemen, Kenya (near Marsabit), Malawi, and India, for example. Also, the plant is widely grown as a forage for grazing animals in South Africa and Australia.

Now, however, the use of tef as a cereal for humans is transcending the boundaries of Ethiopia. Commercial production has begun in both the United States and South Africa, and international markets are opening up. This is because Ethiopian restaurants have recently

1	The common name is often spelled "teff' or "t'ef' in English. We recommend "tef': it is simple, unconfusing, and perhaps a good marketing name that might help the crop's future expansion and acceptance worldwide.
2	According to statistics of the mid-1980s, tef produced 23 percent of Ethiopia's cereal grain. The others were sorghum (26 percent), maize (21.7 percent), barley (17 percent), and wheat (12.4 percent).

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=2305&page=215