Introduction

The purpose of this report is to analyze and illustrate the geographical origins of eragrostis tef along with details of its global dispersion. The common name of the crop in Ethiopia is tef. It was chosen for its cultural significance and it’s importance

Background

In Ethiopia, about 4.9 million acres of land is devoted to its production every year. From 2003-2005 production statistics indicated that tef accounted for about 29% of the land and 20% of the gross grain production of all major cereal cultivation in the country (National Research Council).

Eragrostis tef belongs to the grass family Poaceae, and is species of Eragrostis. It contains about 350 species and tef is the only …show more content…

As can be seen in fig. 1 these regions are concentrated in the central highland areas of Ethiopia. These areas suffer from waterlogging and these other parts of the country suffer from low moisture stress (Seyfu). The water logged soils of these regions seem to be a unique environment for agriculture since there isn’t any other grain that can be grown in this environment. Tef is grown in almost all regions of the country for home consumption since it is the preferred grain. Local markets are also able to charge the highest price compared with other cereals, which is why farmers use it as their cash crop.
(There is going to be a map here)

Global Spread
James Bruce (1730-1794) was a travel writer and a traveller of Scottish decent. He travelled through Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia) in search of the foundation of the Nile River; his discoveries were published in his 1768 book “Discover the Source of The Nile”. In his journeys he mentions of a grain called tef that was grounded and used in their diet as much, if not more than wheat. It is also said that Bruce had taken some grain back with him to a Botanic Garden in Florence, Italy. This led to the publication in 1775 of the first botanical description of the plant, which made tef known worldwide.

But it would be The Royal Botanic Gardens, (Kew Gardens) located in the United Kingdom that would’ve been responsible for the distribution of tef seeds to various