Barley Research in Ethiopia: Past Work and Future Prospects
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Hailu Gebre and Joop van Leur (eds). 1996. Barley Research in Ethiopia: Past Work and Future prospects. Proceedings of the First Barley Research Review Workshop, 16-19 October 1993, Addis Abeba: IAR/ICARDA.
Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
Abstract
Barley is believed to have been cultivated in Ethiopia as early as 3000 years BC. This long history of cultivation and the large agroecological and cultural diversity in the country has resulted in a large number of landraces (farmers' varieties) and rich traditional practices. Barley culture in Ethiopia is usually practiced with little or no external inputs, mainly in higher altitudes or on steep slopes, eroded lands, or in moisture-stress areas.
Barley is a major staple food grain in the highlands. It is used in different forms such as bread, porridge, soup, roasted grain, and for preparing alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The straws are used for animal feed, thatching roofs, and bedding. Production of malting barley has started in 1975 to meet the growing demand of local breweries.
Ethiopia is considered a center of diversity for barley. Ethiopian cultivars have been extensively used in breeding programs throughout the world especially to incorporate resistance to diseases such as BYDV, smuts, powdery mildew, scald, and net blotch, as well as to improve protein quality.
In spite of the importance of barley, its productivity with an average yield of 1.2 tons ha-I is quite low. The main limiting factors are poor soil fertility, insect pests (e.g., aphids and barley fly), leaf diseases (e.g., scald, blotch, smuts, leaf rust), moisture stress, low-yielding varieties, and inadequate agronomic practices.
To improve the productivity of the crop research was conducted over the past 38 years by the AVA, the IAR, CAD U, and other institutions. In 1993 the barley improvement program started to receive support from the Royal Netherlands Government, through a special project within the framework of ICARDA's Nile Valley Regional Program. This collaborative project between IAR and lCARDA will emphasize the development of low-input technology and the transfer of newly developed technology to barley farmers. It was found desirable to review the research done so far on barley and
to discuss future directions for barley improvement. Hence, the First National Barley Research Review and Strategy Workshop was held to accomplish this purpose. Twenty papers in different disciplines were discussed during the workshop. The participants of the workshop came from different institutions including IAR, ICARDA, BIE, ENI, MSFCTD, MOA, CPRC, EGTE, ILRI, AAU, AUA, regional agricultural bureaus, and breweries.
