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Teff, A Rising Global Crop: Current Status of Teff Production and Value Chain



Hyejin Lee*
Institute for International Development Cooperation, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea


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Creative Commons License
© 2018 Hyejin Lee.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Institute for International Development Cooperation, Konkuk University, Unit 306, International House, 120 Neungdong-ro Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea; Tel: 02-450-0586; E-mail: hyejinlee@konkuk.ac.kr


Abstract

Introduction:

The global dominance of the three crops, maize, wheat, and rice in the current food system has raised an alarm. Heavy dependence on these crops can limit our capacity to deal with food shortage and dietary imbalance.

Explanation:

Teff (Eragrostis tef), a warm-season annual cereal, is one of the underutilized crops that can contribute to food security and crop diversification. Teff contains high and unique nutritional values, which will meet the need of health-conscious consumers. It is also a low risk crop, which resists many biotic and abiotic stresses. Currently, Ethiopia is the largest teff producing country, and the only country to have adopted teff as a staple crop. However, the teff production and value chain in Ethiopia largely rely on traditional practices, and the teff market is limited by the government’s export ban. Instead, other countries such as USA are increasingly participating in the teff market.

Conclusion:

This study investigates the current status of teff production and value chain mainly in Ethiopia. The results suggest what areas Ethiopia should improve to take the lead in the rising teff market, and in what way others may participate.

Keywords: Agriculture, Crop diversification, Ethiopia, Food security, Teff, Value chain.