Tef is among the most important cereal crops of Ethiopia, with annual acreage of about 3.02 million ha and grain harvests of 5.28 million tons, it accounts for about 30% of the total cultivated area and 20% of the gross grain production of all cereals cultivated in the country. Scientific tef improvement commenced in the late 1950s in Ethiopia. Since then commendable achievements have been recorded in the generation and improvement of tef technologies and information that have greatly benefited millions of Ethiopian small holder farmers and the tef consuming population of the country. Nevertheless, owning to its localized importance in Ethiopia ,the entire tef and research development efforts have rested solely upon meager domestic efforts and investments with little external scientific, technical and financial support. In lieu of the foregoing facts, the National Tef Research Program of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) in collaboration with partners including IFPRI-ESSP conducted the third international Tef Workshop in Bishoftu, Ethiopia from October 22 - 24, 2019 in the presence of hundreds of local and international stakeholders. The main objective of the workshop was to review and improve the drafts of chapters of a Tef Book that is under preparation. The workshop also tackled current issues on Tef research and developed a comprehensive road map that would enable the Tef research program benefit from application of current global advances in bio-sciences and modern techniques as well as technologies.
Tesfahiwot Dillnessa