The Tef Improvement Project has its own website.
Here are some highlights of work in 2018.
Recent publications include:
Cost-benefit Analysis of New Tef Varieties under Lead Farmers’ Production Management in Central Ethiopia, Bekele A et al., Ethiop. J. Agric. Sci. 29(1) 109-123 (2019)
Lead Farmers Approach in Disseminating Improved Tef Production Technologies, Bekele A et al., Ethiop. J. Agric. Sci. 27(1) 25-36 (2017)
For additional background on tef and the work of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, see our 2019 interview with the Director General.
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Important activities so far have included:
- TILLING tested on the mutant population with candidate genes
- High-throughput TILLING using several dwarfing candidate genes
- Crossing of individual candidate lines to obtain viable semi-dwarf tef to avoid lodging
- Seed production and backcrossing for first stable dwarf varieties
- Additional work on drought-tolerance and other characteristics
- Transfer of the technology to Africa, including training and conducting research on other important under-researched crops in countries outside Ethiopia
- Field testing in Ethiopia.
Once approved, the seeds will be distributed to farmers through responsible organizations. Mechanisms will also be established to ensure the production and distribution of improved seeds in a sustainable manner, through the active involvement of local and national Research & Development organizations.
Promising semi-dwarf and lodging resistant tef line (left) and the original line
