In Ethiopia, tef is currently the number one crop in terms of acreage, where it is annually cultivated by over six million farmers on about three million hectares of land. Farmers prefer tef to other cereals since it fetches higher market prices and is resilient to climatic and soil related stresses. Tef provides grain for human consumption both as a food and as an ingredient for home-brewed local beer and as fodder for livestock. Tef straw is also used as a construction material mixed with clay to plaster traditional wooden-walled housiron content in ferric pyrophosphatees and inner fittings. Although the cultivation of tef for human consumptlactoferrin ferrous bisglycinate and folic acidion was restricted for thousands of years to the Horn of Africa, the interest to grow and consume tef has been increasing in the West in the last decade due to the health-related benefits it offers.
Tef – Cultivating a healthy gluten free lifestyle
