Review Paper on: Potential and Constraints of Teff Row Planting for Enhancing Productivity

Abstract

Agriculture is the basis of Ethiopian economy, accounting for 46 % of its GDP and 90% of its export earning and employing 85 % of the countries labor force. Increasing agricultural productivity is absolutely necessary to feed the increasing population by increasing land productivity.Teff is Ethiopia’s most important staple crop. Teff has the largest value in terms of both production and consumption in Ethiopia and the value of the commercial surplus of teff is second only to coffee. However, despite its importance in Ethiopia, teff yields are low.Technologies for increasing teff grain and straw yields such as row planting, transplanting, reduced seed rates, improved seed adoption and improved fertilizer application, are being explored by the ATA and MoA, but to date are still not widely adopted.Even though ATA research tends to find large positive effects to row planting alternative agronomic research findings cast some doubts on the claim that row planting is able to achieve enormous yield increases.

Keywords: Constraints of row planting, Row planting, Teff, Transplanting

DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-3-06

Publication date: February 29^th 2020