“So we can’t grow it
here…?” probably sounded like a fairly silly question to Melku when I was
talking to her about Teff at the Guelph Farmers’ Market (but you never know if
you don’t ask, right?).
After a few years working
on the ECV Ontario project I’ve learned that there
are certain ethnic foods, vegetables especially, that are able to be grown in
Canada. These ethnic foods include bok
choy, okra, napa cabbage, and I’ve even heard of community gardens attempting to
grow the cereal sorghum. When I was
given a chance to learn about Teff a thought took root in my mind that maybe,
just possibly, we could try growing it in Canada.
I had already asked
Melku a few questions about the growing conditions of Teff and she seemed to
sense what I was building up to. As it
turns out Teff cannot be grown in Canada because it is a tropical crop, meaning
that it grows poorly in cold regions such as Canada. I felt a bit of hope seep
out of me. Though as our conversation
continued, the great potential of Teff restored my hope, except this time for
farmers around the world.
Melku assured me that
wherever Teff is suited to grow it is fairly easy to grow. Teff is said to be a
“reliable cereal for an unreliable climate,” and can grow where many other
cereals cannot, such as in regions with limited rainfall, but also in
waterlogged soils (Gerbremariam, Zarnkow, and Becker, 2014; Small, 2015). It
also remains unaffected by many pests and diseases (Small, 2015), or pest
storage problems (Gerbremariam, Zarnkow, and Becker, 2014). It is sometimes planted mid-season to replace
a failing crop (Small, 2015), and in some areas Teff can be harvested twice per
year.
Currently Teff is
mainly produced by small scale farmers (Small, 2015) in the Horn of
Africa. Later Melku provided me with
some more information about the growing conditions of Teff. It grows best where
there is about 12 hours of sunshine, an annual rainfall of 750-850mm and up to
1200mm in some areas (just to provide a bit of context, Guelph has an average
rainfall of about 931mm), where temperatures vary from 10-27 degrees celsius,
and with a growing period that can range from 60-180 days (90-130 days is
optimal) (from Deckers et al., 2001). Clearly
there is a large variation in the conditions where Teff can grow, showing its
potential as a crop that can be adopted by more farmers both in Ethiopia and
Eritrea, as well as other tropical areas globally.
Prior to
harvesting Teff is extremely delicate when it reaches maturity. Rain and wind
can easily cause the light seed to fall since the seeds are only about the size
of a pinhead. During the harvest of Teff, the cut stalks are walked on to
separate the seed from the straw then mesh is used to separate the grain from
the chaff.
Even though Teff seed
is mainly harvested in the Horn of Africa, this crop may have a large potential
for other tropical regions worldwide with its ability to grow in a wide range
of conditions and its growing demand.
Teff has been grown in
other areas of the world, including North America, though mainly to feed
livestock. Even though we can’t grow
Teff in Canada, it can be grown in some areas of the United States. Melku herself sources her supply of Teff from
a grower in Idaho. She said that the
Teff from North America was different to cook with than Teff from Africa. To make Injera with the Teff from Idaho that
still maintains the same texture as Ethiopian or Eritrean injera, she uses 90%
Teff, 5% buckwheat, and 5% millet.
There are several
farmers in the United States who are picking up on growing Teff as a grain. For
example, the Teff Company (https://www.teffco.com/about-us/) founded about
thirty years ago by Wayne Carlson is in Idaho.
He started growing Teff in the United States after finding similarities
in climate and geology in the Snake River Region of Idaho and the East African
Rift. The Teff Company mainly sells Teff to Ethiopian and Eritrean communities
in North America. Other farmers such as Dave Eckert and John Getto of Nevada
(see their story here: http://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/gambling-gluten-free/)
learned from Carlson and founded Desert Oasis Teff several years ago. The
region is entirely irrigation dependent, and their Teff requires significantly
less irrigation than many of the other crops grown in the region.
There is a fairly high
demand for Teff right now, especially in North America as it is becoming more
widely known as a super grain which is a gluten-free alternative to wheat. There is not enough production of Teff to
meet the demand, making the price of Teff fairly high. This high demand and
price of Teff could help farmers and encourage the flow of foreign currency to
Ethiopia and Eritrea. However, there is little research and investment in this
crop globally and there needs to be improvements (Jeffery, 2015). Farmers need
help and support to increase production and make production more
efficient. Melku suggests that farmers
could benefit from increased mechanization for clearing land, sowing,
harvesting, and packaging Teff.
Similar to what is
happening with Quinoa, there is an in-country shortage of Teff. In the case of
Quinoa, the popularity of this super grain caused the local prices in Peru and
Bolivia to increase so that local people could no longer afford to buy it
(Jeffery, 2015).
Teff is fairly
difficult to find due to its popularity.
In Guelph you can find it at the Stone Store and from Melku’s catering
business. If you are interested in purchasing Teff or Injera, or learning how
to cook Melku’s
Ethiopian and Eritrean food, you can find her at the Guelph Farmers’ Market
every Saturday morning or you can visit her at Laza catering 74 Ontario St
Guelph ON
Phone: 519-731-2204
& 519-823-8247
e-mail: sales@lazacatering.com
Website: www.lazacatering.com
Morgan Sage, URA, ECVOntario, SEDRD, University of Guelph
Sources/ Extra
Information:
Deckers,
J. A., Yizengaw, T. Negeri, A., Ketema, S. (2001). Teff. In Crop Production
in Tropical Africa (pp. 96-101).
Gebremariam,
M. M., Zarnkow, M., Becker, T. (2014). Teff (Eragrostis tef) as a raw materia
for malting, brewing and manufacturing of gluten-free foods and beverages: A
review. Journal of Food Science
Technology, 51(11), 2881-2895. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/article/10.1007/s13197-012-0745-5
Jeffery,
J. (2015, April 2). Will Ethiopia’s teff
be the next ‘super grain’? Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32128441
Moon,
F. (2013, September 25). Gambling on gluten-free: An Ethiopian grain could mean
big bucks for Nevada farmers [web post]. Modern Farmer. Retrieved from http://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/gambling-gluten-free/
Small,
E. (2015). Teff & fonio: Africa’s sustainable cereals. Biodiversity, 16(1),
27-41. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/doi/pdf/10.1080/14888386.2014.997290
Teff
Company. (2015). Ethiopian grain thrives in North America. Retrieved from https://www.teffco.com/about-us/
