last final thesis of umer

2.3. Maize Production in Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s agriculture is complex, involving substantial variation in crops grown across the
country’s different regions and ecologies. Five major cereals (barley, maize, sorghum, wheat and
teff) are the core of Ethiopia’s agriculture and food economy (Alemayehu et al., 2011).
In Ethiopia cereals are the major food crops both in terms of area and volume of production. They
are produced in larger volume than with other crops because they are the principal staple crops.
Cereals are grown in all the regions with varying quantity. Out of the total grain crop area, 80.78%
(10,144,252.30 hectares) was under cereals, of the 80.78% maize is 16.80 %( CSA, 2015).
In Ethiopia, maize production is of recent history. Probably it was introduced to this country from
Kenya during the 17th Century. Maize has been introduced to Ethiopia in the 1600s to 1700s.
Since its introduction it has become an important food crop and at present covers the area of over
1.5 million ha; second only to teff in area, but first in total production. In Ethiopia, maize grows
under a wide range of environmental conditions between 500 to 2400 meters above sea level.
Ethiopia is already a significant maize producer in Africa. Currently, Ethiopia is the fourth largest
maize producing country in Africa, and first in the East African region (ATA, 2013a).
The national maize average grain yield is relatively low, standing at around 2300kg/ha, well below
the world average of 4000 kg/ha. However, the crop is planted mainly for self-consumption and
significant proportion of it is harvested as green maize on the cob during the “hungry period”
which brings the dry average grain yield lower (ATA, 2013a).
Maize is the only crop with significant use of commercial inputs. In 2008, about 37 % of the maize
farmers used fertilizer, compared to the national average of 17 % for all cereal farmers. An
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