Produced in over 50 developing countries, coffee is a key crop in generating rural income, providing significant employment and earning foreign exchange revenues. It provides a livelihood for 25 million small-scale farmers and their families that supply 80 per cent of world coffee production. It can also generate up to 50 per cent of their earnings for some countries, according to the International Coffee Organization.
Because, being the source of livelihood for millions of growers, processors and traders in many developing countries, the economic and social significance of coffee is reasonably immense.
Uniquely, Ethiopia and coffee are synonymous as coffee provides a livelihood for 15 millions of Ethiopians. Currently, about 800,000 hectares of land is covered with an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons. Coffee farms account for 25 per cent of the workforce in the country. It is a nation where coffee has been indigenous cultural traditions for centuries and 50 per cent of its production consumed locally.
In 2015, Ethiopia was the fifth in production in the world and the first in Africa. In terms of marketing it stood at eighth in the world and second in Africa on same year. This vividly shows Ethiopia’s significant engagement in the coffee industry.
Earlier, Coffee otherwise called the Green Gold had been generating up to 70 per cent of the country’s foreign earnings on average. This export share has now been dwindled to nearly 30 per cent as other agricultural items injected into the international market. With this export amount the nation is earning up to 800 million USD. It is simple to guess to what extent this budget would help the nation to expand social and economic infrastructures.
This demonstrated that coffee has been and with improved quality production will greatly be contributing to the socio-economic development and poverty reduction efforts of the country.
Cognizant of this fact, the government of Ethiopia is endeavouring to ensure the quality of coffee and fair benefits to coffee growing farmers and to be the second quality coffee supplier in the international markets in seven years time.
Ethiopia, which had first experience of coffee’s essence, is to host the 4th International Coffee Organization (ICO) and the 116th International Coffee Council meeting on March 6-11, 2016 in Addis Ababa at the United Nations Conference Centre.
The conference to be held under the theme Origin and Diversity is expected to attract more than 1,000 participants including heads of state, high level delegates from growers, producers, exporters, importers, academia and media as well as ICO member countries and others across the globe.
As a sideline event, the ICO’s Private Sector Consultative Board which comprises sixteen representatives from coffee consumption and production industries are also expected to hold their biannual meeting. This is specially a great opportunity for Ethiopia to showcase its potential and search for potential markets links.
Though Ethiopia has become a conference hub of international convergences and summits, the ICO’s meeting is so historical one as the country is the birthplace of coffee.
Though the competition has been tough to host the events, Ethiopia has been chosen to organize these big events for its significant contribution in the coffee industry and intense diplomatic efforts made by many actors. This will make the event for the first time be hosted on African soil, in Ethiopia where the legend of coffee has originated.
As Ethiopia has been cultivating its diverse coffee resources for years, the theme is suitably expressing the correlation between Ethiopia and coffee. The conference is a potential opportunity for the government, coffee growers, producers, exporters, research institutions and others in business to promote the Ethiopia coffee, share rich experience of countries and forge market networks.
The government and coffee growers of Ethiopia have long been exerting concerted efforts to improve the productivity and quality of coffee. As part f this endeavours, the government has a set of incentive packages that include marketing linkage, loans for coffee exporters and processors, tax exemptions for investors who import goods for coffee processing and promotion of the Arabica coffee at trade shows abroad.
The government is also providing training to smallholder coffee farmers in improved harvesting, storage and preservation techniques with a view to boosting export sales. Besides, along with stakeholders efforts are under way to preserve Ethiopia’s unique and diverse flavour (coffee speciality) that receives much appreciation from the consumers all over the world.
Unlike many other countries Ethiopia has established Coffee Quality Centres to qualify the quality coffee for the international markets niche. The centres would help identify mixed varieties that negatively affect the identity and quality of Ethiopian coffee.
Since the conference brings together the diverse set of actors in the coffee industry the unfair benefits among producers and customers, production and marketing issues would hopefully be addressed.
In all countries including Ethiopia the coffee sector faces many challenges including lack of market transparency and improved technologies, illegal coffee trading, the global economic crisis, rising production cost, reduced availability of land and labour, poor social conditions of small farmers, changing global weather patterns and the scarcity of environmental resources such as water etc.
Certainly, the conference is an opportunity for Ethiopia to popularize policies and strategies that would help ensure the economical, social and environmental sustainability of the coffee sector.
Above all, since the conference serves as a forum to identify priority areas, concerns and opportunities that affect coffee economy it is much anticipated to address the growing concern of the devastating impacts of climate change on coffee production.
So long as there are influential personalities, high-level speakers, topical discussions, and an exhibition of products and services, Ethiopian actors, especially exporters should exploit smartly the experience of countries for value added export. For Ethiopia, with an ambitious plan to boost its coffee production and export sales, no any other best potential opportunity than the conference where pertinent delegates, who have influential hands directly or indirectly on coffee industry, take part.
