Sustainability of Coffee Production and Trade In Ethiopia

Sustainability of Coffee Production and Trade In

Ethiopia

John NenghabiMimi Choudhury

Winta Terfari

NRSC 441Professor Weil

December 9 2004

Birth Place of Coffee

Ethiopia is the oldest coffee exporter in the world

Ethiopian muslim merchants first exported coffee to 142 countries

In 1960, Ethiopia joined the Inter-African Coffee Organization and the International Coffee Organization

Coffee Plant

The original home of the coffee plant is Africa. To be exact, there are three different coffee plants, all related:

• Coffea Arabica  from Ethiopia, known from prehistoric times.

• Coffea Robusta  from Congo, discovered in 1898.

• Coffea Liberica  (Coffea Canephora) from Western Africa, of no great importance in coffee trade.

Background And Agronomy

• Coffee (Caffea Arabica) is an evergreen, glabrous shrub or small tree up to five meters tall when un pruned. It originated from Ethiopia. It is disease resistant , withstands a wide range of soil pH, resistant to a wide variety of insects, tolerant to variation in photoperiods, shade, slopes and viruses. The plant is a natural

tetraploid, (2n=44) and self fertilizes.

Production

The coffee tree does not begin to produce its full yield until its sixth year and will continue prime production for about ten years, however Coffee plants may live on for 60 years. The tree, if left alone will grow to a height of between 16 and 40 feet.

Culture

• In Ethiopia traditional methods of plants on virgin soils is to put 20 seeds in each hole; 3.5/3.5 at the beginning of the rainy season. Half are eliminated naturally at six to twelve months. Seedlings are taken to the field and planted on contoured fields 2-3m apart in 3-5m rows. Holes are prepared 40x40x40cm and four seedlings planted in each. Coffee is often intercropped with food crops such as corn, beans and rice during the first few years

Overall Significance and Historical Background:

• For propagation of Arabica coffees, ripe red cherries are collected, pulped, and the mucilage is removed by fermentation.  The freshly picked seeds can either be planted immediately or dried for later use.  Drying takes place on wire mesh trays in the shade.  Dried seeds can be used up to a year or more if properly stored. 

Coffee Use In Ethiopia:

Cultural Importance The beans are widely used as a beverage. Coffee is grown in Ethiopia mainly as a cash crop for export and is widely used locally as a masticatory since ancient times. It is also cooked in butter to make rich flat cakes. A fermented drink from the pulp is also produced locally.

Natural Fertilizer Coffee pulp is good for manures, mulch and cattle feed. Natural Stimulant/Drug Caffeine is a wide spread additive in over the counter diet pills, pain killers and stimulants.

Husbandry and Management:

• The coffee tree requires a mean temperature of 66-77 degrees Fahrenheit (19-25 degrees Celsius). Thus, the coffee tree is a tropical plant. It is not a coincidence that coffee and humans thrive in the same temperatures. Our original home is the same - Africa. It is quite possible that Eve and her contemporaries (about 2.8 million years ago) munched coffee beans for pleasure.

Is coffee growing sustainable?

• Clean weed control is necessary through out the entire season. Pruning is common practice in some districts. Mulching and green manure are commonly used with chemical fertilizers coming more and more into use. Typical applications consist of 175g N, per bush, 100g P and 175g K. P and K added in two applications and N added over a longer period of time with 4-5 applications. Other elements are added as soils require them. Shading tends to favor leaf and shoot growth at the expense of the roots.

Holiday for Growers

• Grow your own Coffee Plant• Coffea arabica• Average economic age of plants 30-40

years with some 100 years plantations still bearing. Trees come into bearing 3-4 years after planting and are in full bearing at 6-8 years. Fruits mature 7-9 months after flowering. Selective picking of ripe red fruits produces highest quality. In Ethiopia, harvest season is October-December

Fertilization• The Arabica species is self-pollinating, whereas the Robusta

species depends on cross pollination.  About 6-8 weeks after the flowers are fertilized, cell division occurs and the fruit remains as a pin head for a period that is dependent upon the climate. 

Traditional Methods vs. Conventional

• In Ethiopia traditional methods of plants on virgin soils is to put 20 seeds in each hole; 3.5x3.5 at the beginning of the rainy season. Half are eliminated naturally at six to twelve months. Seedlings are taken to the field and planted on contoured fields 2-3m apart in 3-5m rows. Holes are prepared 40x40x40cm and four seedlings planted in each. Coffee is often intercropped with food crops such as corn, beans and rice during the first few years . Clean weed control is necessary through out the entire season. Pruning is common practice in some districts. Mulching and green manure are commonly used with chemical fertilizers coming more and more into use.

Research And Analysis

• Mazzafera and his colleagues discovered three naturally decaffeinated varieties after screening 3000 Ethiopian coffee trees, representing 300 strains. Experiments on the plants demonstrated that they lacked caffeine synthase, the enzyme in leaves that converts a compound called theobromine into caffeine.

• As well as eliminating the need for solvent extraction, the discovery could also be an alternative to decaffeinated plants created by knocking out the gene for the same enzyme via genetic engineering

Weather Conditions• The subtropical regions, at high altitudes of 16-24° C. Rainy and

dry seasons must be well defined, and altitude must be between 1800-3600 feet.  These conditions result in one growing season and one maturation season, usually in the coldest part of autumn. 

Harvest

• Each year coffee is harvested during the dry season when the coffee cherries are bright red, glossy, and firm.

Land Use in Ethiopia

-Ethiopia is 112.4 million ha.-Only 3% of the cultivated land (1.7% of total land area) is used for coffee approximately 400,000 ha.-95% of this land is cultivated by small land holders (fields smaller than 2 ha)

Types of Coffee Production:

1)Forest Coffee

2)Semi Forest Coffee

3)Garden Coffee

4)Plantation Coffee

Harvesting Methods:Dry Method-

80-85% exported3-4 weeksDried then outer layer removed (hulled)Problem: use timber for drying

Wet Method-15-20% exportedover 400 washing plantswet pulp fermented and washedProblem: waste pulp (sometimes acidic) leached into local waterways

Alternatives:-Fruit pulp yield 127 liters of alcohol. -Pulp can be fed to sheep.-Fed to cattle during dry season if ensiled with grasses and molases.

Effect of Coffee Production On Genetic Diversity:

Value of Ethiopian Coffee Beans

Coffee Arabica

Most conservation efforts (ex-situ)-Coffee Berry Disease (CBD)4 Conservation sites-

Kontir-Berhan, Boginda-Woreda, Boginda-Yeba and Geba-Dogi

Insitu Conservation:Yayu Forest Coffee Gene Reserve

1)Size of Reserve2)Zoning:

Core; Buffer 1; Buffer 23)Improve Multiple Use:

Bees and Vegetables-Coffee bushes caged with bees yield 52% more berries than bushes caged without bees. -Use soil and grass bunds; grow dry season vegetables.

Effect on WetlandsEthiopian Wetland Research ProgramCoffee production displace cereal crops from interfluves (The region of higher land between two rivers that are in the same drainage system )- so crops are shifted to wetlands- dried and remove native vegetation.

Increased Degradation due to:

Increased Deforestation-cleared for agriculture, timber, fuel wood and narcotics

Increased Immigration-Influx of migrants during peak season

Lack of conservation management and education-Lack of funds

Lack of land ownership-farms owned by Country

Political and social problems-Warfare, Famine

The Third World: Dependence on Primary Products

• Out of 141 developing countries, 95 depend for more than half of their export earnings on agricultural commodities (UN 2003)

• 70 depend only on three commodities or less, making them susceptible to price slumps and volatility

• Most of these countries are located in Africa and Latin America

• Most will remain as part of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs).

Real Agricultural Commodity Price trends (1980 = 100) (source: FAO)

Plummeting Prices

According to theInternational CoffeeOrganization, coffeeprices: • Plunged to a 30-

year low• Decreased by 70%

in the last four years

• & Continues to decrease

World Coffee Prices

World Market Share …

“Ethiopia exports only green coffee beans (not roasted), it is limited to supplying raw materials at a fixed price to the roasters (and end product sellers) like Starbucks, Nestle, Kraft, Sara lee …etc whose coffee brands are worth $1 billion or more in annual sales (OXFAM 2002)”

Coffee: Nucleus of the Economy

60% of Ethiopian exports Livelihood of 1.2 million

coffee farmers Small farmers produce 90%

of the coffee (the rest by state farms)

Coffee supports 15 million families (1/4th of population) dependent on coffee

Social Impact on Farmers• Crippled coffee farmers• Unable to afford health

services• Unable to send

children to school• Production has

declined by 20-30%• Selling at a loss • Abandoning coffee for

other cash crops (chat)

Vicious POVERTY cycle ?

Pre-existing situation : •Drought•War •Debt servicing ($105 million out of 6 billion in 2003/04) GDP •Classified one of the poorest countries in the world •Per Capita Income : $100•40% – 50% of people live on less than a dollar per day

Impact on Economy

•Less production

•Less consumption

•Less foreign exchange (dented reserves)

•Less import

•More dependence on international donors

•More debt

•More POVERTY

Coffee Production Potential

Suitable altitude

Ample rainfall

Optimum temperatures

Appropriate planting materials

Fertile soil

"Before you've finished your breakfast this morning, you'll have relied on half the world" - Martin Luther King

Hopes for Sustainability?Innovative Farmer Cooperatives

“The Oromiya Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union has launched feasibility studies to embark construction of 'tukuls' and resort outlets for tourists and visitors in various coffee forest areas scattered around Oromiya region”

November 14th, 2004 http://allafrica.com/stories/200411151271.html

Fair Trade movement

JOIN THE BIG NOISE WWW.MAKETRADEFAIR.ORG

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The Ethiopia Coffee Quality Project (2003–2006) aims to improve quality, consistency and traceability of different

coffees, to meet market demands.