Coffee Research Strategy [1] Introduction Agriculture remains a dominant sector in the Ethiopian economy being the pillar of economic growth and development. Although there is an on-going structural transformation in the Ethiopian economy, predominantly from agriculture to manufacturing and industrial oriented economy, agriculture still comprises 45% of total output (GDP), 73 - 78% of employment and 80% of the foreign export earnings1,2. Among the top three agricultural exports, coffee stands first followed by oil seeds and pulses while the largest imports have been cereals, edible oil and sugar. The significance of coffee in the Ethiopian economy is enormous in that it accounts for 29 % of the total export earnings of the nation, 4.7 million small-holders directly involved in producing coffee and about 25 million people directly or indirectly depends on coffee sector for their livelihoods12,13. Globally, coffee is the second most traded commodity in volume of trade after petroleum. Over 56 developing countries that produce and export coffee generates a total of about US$19.1 billion annually7. The predominant role of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) in the Ethiopian economic, social and cultural dimensions dates back to several centuries as the country is the primary center of origin and genetic diversity of the plant. According to history, Ethiopia is the world‟s oldest exporter of coffee that predates 18303. Cognizant of the deep-rooted attachment of coffee to the Ethiopian community and its multitude importance to Ethiopia and the world at large, the previous and present Governments of Ethiopia (GOE) had made relentless efforts to strengthen the coffee sub-sector through establishing organizations responsible for development and research undertakings. To this end, „Coffee Board of Ethiopian (CBE)‟ was established in October 1957 with proclamation number 25/1950 as the first legal coffee development institution which is responsible for all aspects of coffee issues (research, development and marketing) at national and international levels48. After years of services (1950 – 1968 Eth.C.), however, CBE undergone several restructuring taking different organizational levels as Coffee Production and Processing Enterprise (CPPE: 1968 - 1970), Coffee and Tea Development and Marketing Authority (CTDMA: 1970 – 1971), Ministry of Coffee and Tea Development (MCTD: 1971 – 1985), Ministry of State Farms and Coffee and Tea Development (MSFCTD: 1985 – 1987), Coffee and Tea Authority (CTA: 1987 – 1996), Coffee, Tea and Spices Directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture (CTSD: 1996 – 2003), and finally Coffee, Tea and Spices Department (CTSD: 2003 – 2008) under the Ministry of Agriculture Extension Directorate, all posing its own repercussions on the sector‟s development. The later level of representation (CTSD) was unprecedentedly unequitable in terms of capacity to the scale of development aspired and the expected revenue the nation need to annually generate from coffee. Hence, the Government was advised to reconsider upgrading of the representation of coffee sector development. In response, ECTDMA was reinstituted on 14th December 2015 (2008 Eth. Calendar)5 with great passion and enthusiasm to transform coffee sector development to a higher level. As previously indicated, the government was also very keen and well aware of the need of establishing coffee research to support coffee development organization. In effect, the first Coffee Research Station was established at Jimma in late 1967 to backup coffee development [1] endeavors with technical assistance. The primary mandate of the research station was to transform the traditional way of coffee production to modern system through designing and implementing innovative research programs that could generate improved practices. With the creation of the then Jimma Research Station (JRS) which is now called Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) in late 1967, the immediate strategic intervention was focused on forest and semi forest coffee improvement which at that time represent the bulk of the production system followed by garden coffee8. Even today, forest, semi- forest and garden coffees respectively represent 10%, 35% and 50% of the production system where as modern plantation accounts only for the remaining 5 percent14. Sooner, the research strategy was revised to include improvement of agronomic practices (spacing, hole size, weed control, fertilizer rate, etc.), coffee processing for quality improvement, germplasm collection and selection for variety development and a limited amount of entomological and pathological studies15. After the occurrence of CBD in 1971 and its subsequent spread to all coffee areas, the emphasis and the research strategy was largely shifted to the control of the disease. Soon after, a strategy was developed and a national campaign was launched to combat the disease in two possible ways, by spraying fungicide and development of resistant cultivars. Thanks to our land for its endowment of immense genetic diversities that enabled to identify CBD resistant genotypes in the shortest time possible (just six years) and put CBD under control. Subsequently, with the gradual development of coffee research, seven research disciplines/division, five sub- centers and four testing sites (Annex 2) were established as part of coffee research strategy to tackle all aspects of coffee production, processing and agro-ecological challenges in a holistic approach. On the other hand, since its inception, coffee research has been facing a number of challenges that had greatly hindered its steady development and advancement in coffee technology. Despite all the challenges or constraints, however, some outstanding achievements have been registered in generating scientific and/or technical information and developing improved technologies. These achievements and the existing research gaps had been well documented in the proceedings of two consecutive national workshops carried out in 199818 and 200716. Among the outstanding achievements, collection and conservation of over 5,500 germplasm accessions in field gene banks at Jimma and its sub-centers; development and release of 34 pure lines and six coffee hybrids (Annex 3); improvement of conventional agronomic (nursery and field management) practices including plant density, pruning and training, rejuvenation methods, etc.; soil fertility management and application of plant nutrients; control of coffee diseases, insect pests and weeds; and pre- and post-harvest processing methods. The aforementioned research technologies have made considerable contribution to coffee production, productivity and quality improvement in Ethiopia even though a lot is still remaining to address a number of challenges facing the Ethiopian coffee industry. In 1999, a coffee research strategy dubbed “Strategies and Priorities for coffee Research” was developed in an attempt to address some of these problems19. This strategy was not, however, implemented as planned due mainly to [2] structural changes in the research system. The present coffee research strategy developed through the financial assistance of USAID and ATA has comprehensively assessed all those persistent and emerging constraints or challenges currently facing the industry. The aim is to identify and address real challenges and constraints of coffee production in Ethiopia and boost coffee production, productivity and quality with the ultimate goal of making considerable research contribution towards achieving the ambitious GTP II plan slated to rise production and productivity from 420,000 tone and 7.04 Qt/ha in 2014/15 to 1,102,620 tones and 11.1 Qts/ha in 2019/20, respectively9. In effect, the strategy was developed based on practical assessment of internal and external environments using data directly collected from discussions and interviews made with the identified key stakeholders, experimental and farmers‟ field visits and desk studies. The strategy developed comprises six main chapters; but the principal components of the strategy which includes the procedures followed in SWOC analysis, identification of strategic issues and the strategic interventions developed to address the strategic issues are illustrated, in detail, in Chapter 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Rationale for Developing the Strategy Coffee is the gift of Ethiopia to the world. Nevertheless, those countries of the world such as Brazil, Colombia and many others which received few seeds with very narrow genetic base in the early 1700s from Ethiopia are today producing and benefiting from coffee much better than Ethiopia does. Despite the available high genetic diversity and wide ranges of agro-ecologies under which coffee grows in Ethiopia, productivity and quality is lower than many other countries. Apart from low productivity and quality, currently, the Ethiopian coffee industry is facing a number of other challenges or constraints (see chapter 3 and 4) that need considerable research support to combat them. In view of the immense opportunity the country owes to maximize production and productivity, the ambitious target that the government set in GTP II (2016 – 2020) to be the second exporter in the world after Brazil could be realistic if the government is committed to invest in coffee sector development and appropriate strategy is put in place and effectively implemented. In this regard, the necessity of a sound research strategy such as the present one is indispensable and justifiable for coffee development endeavors for