The Potential for Income Improvement and Biodiversity Conservation Via Specialty Coffee in Ethiopia
The potential for income improvement and biodiversity conservation via specialty coffee in Ethiopia Pascale Schuit1,*, Justin Moat2, Tadesse Woldemariam Gole3, Zeleke Kebebew Challa4, Jeremy Torz1, Steven Macatonia1, Graciano Cruz5 and Aaron P. Davis6,* 1 Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, London, UK 2 Biodiversity Informatics and Spatial Analysis, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK 3 Environment and Coffee Forest Forum (ECFF), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 4 UNOCHA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 5 HiU Coffee, Panama City, Panama 6 Natural Capital & Plant Health, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK * These authors contributed equally to this work. ABSTRACT The specialty coffee sector represents opportunities for coffee farmers and other actors due to increased value within the supply chain, driven by elevated consumer purchase prices. We investigated these relationships up to the export stage, as well as the potential for specialty coffee to improve stakeholder participation in biodiversity conservation. Household data was collected from a sample of 272 coffee farmers belonging to five primary cooperatives, in the heavily forested area of Yayu, in the Illubabor administrative zone of Oromia regional state in south-western Ethiopia, for the 2017/2018 harvest season. Qualitative and quantitative data, gathered between 2015 and 2019, from focus group discussions, was used to supplement the survey and to explain the empirical findings. We show that the income from coffee (and thus household income) can be increased, in some cases substantially, via participation in the specialty coffee market. The unit price for coffee was much higher than standard market prices and those including certification premiums. Whilst quality is a key Submitted 31 July 2020 factor for specialty coffee, income increases via the specialty market are caveat bound.
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