1) Wheat is an increasingly important crop in East Africa due to rising populations, incomes, and urbanization. 2) However, wheat production in the region faces challenges including diseases, poor soil and water management, and lack of improved varieties suited to local conditions. 3) Regional collaboration on research, seed systems, markets, and policy can help address constraints and improve wheat productivity and food security in East Africa.

1. Regional perspective – production, constraints,
market, future: Synthesis of Eastern Africa
Alemayehu Assefa (EIAR, Ethiopia)
&
Bekele Geleta (CIMMYT-Ethiopia)

2. Introduction
 East African Environment
 Importance of wheat in East Africa
 Wheat area and Production
 Import and Export of Wheat in ECA
 Wheat Production Constraints
 Regional Research Priorities

3. Environment of East African Countries
♣ Because of the rain shadow of the westerly monsoon winds created by
Rwenzori mountains and the Ethiopian highlands
● East Africa is surprisingly cool and dry for its latitude.
● The low lying lands of Northern Kenya, South & South East Ethiopia are
extremely dry
● Rainfall being around 400mm at Mogadishu and 1200 mm at Mombasa
on the coast
♣ While for the inland, it increases from around 130 mm to over 1 100 mm
near Kilimanjaro and most Ethiopian highlands
● Most of the rain falls in two distinct wet seasons (one centered around
April and the other October to November.
● But in Ethiopia June to September also

4. Importance of wheat in East Africa (ECA)
 Wheat is increasingly becoming a valued grain in terms of
consumption in ECA due to
 rising population and incomes
 increased urbanization
 and its associated dietary patterns.

5. Importance of wheat (cont.)
 A major crop in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya and
Tanzania
 In Kenya, 2nd most important cereal; planted on 0.13 M ha
with annual production of >220,000T.
 In Ethiopia, 4th most important cereal; planted on 1.46 M ha
with annual production of 3.1 to 3.4 M t, mostly by small-
holders.

6. Wheat Area and Production in East Africa
Area
(mill Yield
ha) (t/ha) Production (million t)
Country 2008 2008 2009 2010 2011
E. Africa 1.74 1.7 4.2 3.8 4.2
ETH 1.42 1.7 3.4 3.1 3.4
KEN 0.13 2.3 0.2 0.3 0.2
TAN 0.09 0.9 0.1 0.1 0.1
UGA 0.01 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.0
FAOSTAT 2008; FAO Crop prospects
& Food Situation. No. 1, 2012

7. Wheat production (1961-2008) in East Africa (D.Collin, East
African Yield Study)

8. Fertilizer Use Per hectare in East African Countries

9. Import/Export (Market)
 the ECA region is a net importer of
wheat. Eg: Tanzania wheat imports
 The exports of wheat are very little.
averaged 643,000 T per
 The imports have been increasing
since 1986 from 675,000 t to over 3 annum between 2005 and
million t in 2002
 increasing domestic demand of 2007;
wheat in ECA countries
 In 1950's, Ethiopia was a
 The total import requirement
reached 3, 766,200 ton in 2011 net exporter of wheat; but in
(Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda & TZ) 2011: 1,049,000 t import

10. Wheat Production Constraints in ECA:
1. Technological & Natural factors
 Diseases, weeds, insects (RWA)
 The appearance of a new race, Ug99, in East Africa
is a serious concern for wheat producing nations
Eg: In Kenya, yield losses up to 71% (equivalent to 210,000 t)
to Ug99 in experiments.
Grain quality
 Lack of varieties for specific growing conditions
(drought, heat, irrigation, acid soils)
 Poor Good Crop Management
 Lack of seeds

11. 2. Socio-Economic & Institutional factors:
● Lack of adoption of technologies as a package
● Inadequate access to production resources
● Inadequate participation of local communities
● Poor physical infrastructure and utilities
● Week institutional framework
● Unfavorable terms of trade
● The whole spectrum in the wheat value chain not often
considered (eg Durum wheat in Ethiopia)

12. The Priorities for wheat in ECA
1: Improved productivity
Development and dissemination of efficient soil
and water management strategies.
Development and dissemination of integrated
crop management options.
Development and dissemination of appropriate
varieties.
Promotion, access and use of inputs.

13. The Priorities (Cont’d)
2: Improved markets and trade opportunities
 Promote demand driven products of wheat.
 Establishing and supporting market and trade
information mechanisms.
3: Strengthening institutional support and
infrastructure
 Establishment and strengthening partnerships.
 Strengthening human and institutional capacity.

14. The Priorities (Cont’d)
4: Development and promotion of appropriate
post harvest technologies and utilization
options
 Processing technologies.
 Appropriate technologies to reduce post
harvest losses.
 Development and promotion of value addition in
wheat.

15. The Priorities (Cont’d)
5. Influencing policy issues
 Establishing favourable marketing policies and
suitable infrastructure.
 Identifying and promoting favourable policies.
(eg. Design mechanism for domestic food processing factories to
use local wheat produces)

16. R4D Strategy:
 The problems, potentials and opportunities seen so far reflect
the need for a collective effort between institutions, countries
through regional platforms for:
● Technology generation
● Adoption and extension
● Knowledge management
 Sub-regional integration can boost longer-term growth and can
deliver benefits to food security in short run

17. R4D Strategy (cont.)
 Hence, East African Agricultural Productivity Program
(EAAPP) aimed at
● Sharing technologies, knowledge and information
● To strengthen enabling environment for regional seed trade
and improve the capacity of seed producers and traders
● Increasing market based supply of seeds to farmers
● Harmonization of policies & seed services to strengthen
regional wheat seed and markets:
 While keeping strong collaboration with CG Centers
(CIMMYT, ICARDA & others)

18. The Role of Research to Increased Wheat Production
Trends of wheat production & productivity in
response to varietal development in Ethiopia (1961-
2007): Source: FAOSTAT

19. Future: Regional Integration
 Regional integration under the auspices of the African Union (AU), the
United Nations Commission for Africa (UN-ECA), Common Market for
East and Southern Africa (COMESA),
 Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD),
 and the re-establishment of the East African Community (EAC) are
opening opportunities for enlarging the market through elimination of
tariff and non-tariff trade barriers.
 Further, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), can
assist African producers to avoid inadvertently undermining each other in
the international market place and
 Collaboratively carve out a significant market share for selected products in
which the region can be competitive (NEPAD, 2003).