Introduction

Ethiopia is the only country that produces teff as a cereal crop. Teff occupies the largest area of cultivated land under cereal production in Ethiopia, and as such it is the most important crop. According to the statistical information of five years' average from 1979–80 to 1983–4, teff was cultivated each year on 1.385 million hectares, followed by barley 0.851, wheat 0.609, maize 0.780 and sorghum 0.994 million hectares. The national average grain yield of these cereals for the same five-year period was 9.1 quintals per hectare (q/ha) for teff, barley 11.83, wheat 11.26, maize 17.35 and sorghum 14.57q/ha (Central Statistics Office, 1984).

Teff is mainly cultivated as a single crop. However, in a few areas it is cultivated under a multiple cropping system. In such cases it is usually grown as an intercrop with Brassica carinata, Carthamus tinctorius or Helianthus annuus. It is also relay cropped with Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor.

Teff is mainly used for making a pancake-like bread called ‘injera’. In some cases it is used to make porridge and native alcoholic drinks called ‘tella’ and ‘katikala’. Its straw is highly valued and is used as feed for cattle. In addition, the straw is incorporated with mud to reinforce it and used for plastering walls of houses.

Teff is on average as nutritious as any of the major cereals.