CHAPTER XVI TEF: Post-harvest Operations

5.2 Major problems

5.4 Other: The Role of Women in Tef Production and Utilization Process

5. Economic and social considerations

5.2 Major problems

Limitations and Prospects for Improving Tef

The small size of tef seed poses problems during sowing, and indirectly during weeding and threshing. At sowing the very small seed size makes it difficult to control population density and its distribution. This remains true whether one sows the seed by hand, uses a sower or a seed driller. The plants stand unevenly after germination and have a nutrient efficiency use of the crop and crop yield. Owing to scattered plants, farmers find it difficult to use mechanical weeding implements and are forced to either hand-weed or use chemical herbicides.

Table 18. Percent of labour and time inputs of male and female farmers in crop and livestock production in sample surveyed areas of three regions in Ethiopia. 

Threshers or combine harvesters are used to thresh tef. However, seed loss is incurred because tef seed is very small and light and gets blown away with the chaff. Harvesting of the crop is difficult because of lodging. Since tef lodges heavily it is not advisable to use higher rates of fertilizer to increase yield. The current landraces and cultivars used are not lodging resistant and the development of genetically lodging-resistant cultivars is essential. Landraces and current cultivars give a low yield.

At present the national average grain yield of tef is 910 kg/ha. Improved varieties of tef give a grain yield of 1 700-2 200 kg/ha on farmers' fields and 2 200-2 800 kg/ha under research-managed large farms. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted to assess the yield potential of the crop.

The study of 2 255 accessions of tef have demonstrated the high yield potential of the crop. Thus, it is not fair at this point to state that a low yield is one of the genetic limitations of the crop. The crop has great potential for improvement and could give more that 6 t/ha if it receives adequate research attention. Low grain yield and production constraints such as lodging, drought, water-logging, heat and frost might be overcome through a comprehensive plant breeding program since there exists a genetic variation in tef germplasm for these traits.

In addition to using the existing genetic variation to overcome some of the production constraints, development of improved and appropriate agronomic practices and cropping system would greatly contribute to overcoming production constraints and improving the productivity of the crop. An improved agronomic practice does include appropriate seed rate, sowing dates, seedbed preparation, fertilizer type, rate and time of application. The cropping systems also includes crop sequence, relay cropping, intercropping, etc. (Seyfu, 1993, IAR, 1993 and Seyfu, 1997).

The gaps in current germplasm collections and suggestions made for future action, both of which were indicated earlier, need to be addressed in order to utilize the germplasm and overcome present constraints. Targeted collecting of germplasm from stress areas such as waterlogged areas, low-temperature and drought-prone areas, etc. would be useful. Development of rapid and cheap screening techniques to identify various stress-tolerant cultivars and identify and utilize efficient breeding or biotechnology techniques for developing superior cultivars are essential in order to overcome the present constraints.

By comparison to other grain crops, no regional or international research network exists and improvement work is mainly confined to Ethiopia. The progress in improvement work on tef has not been as rapid as on other major cereals consumed worldwide. This is mainly due to the fact that tef is only consumed in Ethiopia at present. Hence, contrary to wheat, maize or rice, the combined research funds in billions of dollars and the efforts of thousands of scientists from different nations have not been oriented to its improvement. At present, Ethiopia is the only country providing the major input for both research funds and the scientists who work towards its improvement. Therefore, the lack of rapid progress in research is not due to the fact that the crop cannot be improved, but only because of limitations in funds and research personnel. Even with the limited amounts of funds and research personnel made available, progress in both basic as well as applied research so far is encouraging (Seyfu, 1997).

5.4 Other: The Role of Women in Tef Production and Utilization Process

The gender pattern of labour utilization is often referred to as the triple roles of gender. These are productive, reproductive and community management roles. In Ethiopian agriculture the role of women is very high especially in post harvest production system though it is not well quantified. The main source of labour is the family, which includes the wife and the children. The average family size in most places, especially in the highlands of Ethiopia where tef is the main crop, is more than six people per household. It is noted that over 50-80 percent of the labour force required in crop, livestock production as well as in environmental rehabilitation is provided by female farmers in rural Ethiopia and elsewhere in the world (UNECA/WARDIS, 1997 and Tamirie, 1995 as cited by Wundensh, 1999). In the Ethiopian context, females are actively involved in the following farming activities, though the degree of their involvement might vary due to various reasons such as traditional/religious influence and type of farming system.

• Seed Cleaning
• Land preparation called Gulgualo
• Sowing/planting
• Weeding and applying manure
• Hoeing
• Scaring of birds
• Harvesting
• Preparation of threshing fields (includes provision of dung, water and smearing the ground)
• Collection and pilling
• Winnowing
• Storing of produce and care of stored seeds
• Food preparation for labour assistance or hired labourers in the field
• Most of the post harvest operations such as cleaning, milling or taking to the milling plants, preparation and baking of food for the family.

The role of Ethiopian women in tef production system alone is not quantified enough. Some attempts were done to quantify their role in either crop production or livestock husbandry in some regions of Ethiopia (Table 18). In tef production activities, males do most of the field activities from ploughing till threshing, storage and transport. Women have important role mostly in weeding; harvesting or collecting of harvested plants, preparation of threshing ground, transportation and selling of the seeds and the straw in the cities and towns. The rest of the activities such as milling of tef and preparation of food in different forms including the sausages such as Wot are exclusively left to the women. However, males and females participate according to their division of labour in some organizations, hotels, teaching institutions, hospitals, military feeding centres, drought affected areas feeding centres, etc. mostly in the post harvest operations.

A study was made in predominantly tef growing areas of Ada, Lume and Gimbichu districts of the central highlands of Ethiopia in 1997 (Table 19). In this study, it was observed that unlike some African countries where the gender division of family labour by agricultural production is becoming less distinct, no woman farmer is found to have been engaged in land preparation and planting. The role of women in tef production was observed during weeding, harvesting, transporting, threshing and storage. Preparation of tef for food is accepted in the study district as a woman's job.