A study case on coffee (Coffea arabica): Limu Coffe - IRD

that they were the property of Haile Sélassie Prime Minister, Ras Mesfin, who expropriated
its owners at the times of Northern domination. Visiting this agro-forest, you will meet a lot
of shade trees and weeds species 28
, even forest without coffee between coffee plots in which a
lot of monkeys (tota and in Amharic), birds (in Oromic) and antelopes (midako in Amharic)
coexist. Some say lions and leopards close to the bottom of valleys’ rivers. Whereas Dino
forest, qualified as a semi-forest, only contains five to seven shade trees species, a regular
weed stratum and only tota as monkeys. Coffee trees hold the same appearance: a high
canopy with low yields on the top of three to five meters-trees old and lesser than more
rejuvenated.
Illustration 16: Kalloo Forest
fauna as hadhagayyee and
Gurezza (Bossolasco, 5 th July
2009)
- According to the same expert of the Jima Agricultural Research Center’s breeding
department, in forest most of time farmers are not even the owners of the trees. No shade
regulation, no planting. Just collecting. These forests are characterised by the number of
primary trees. This is the undisturbed, original forest (primary trees like Shefflera abyssinica,
Aningeria altissima). Whereas semi-forests contain houses near even inside the forest. People
plant coffee trees. There are less primary trees, some secondary forest (Croton
machrostachiyus, Albizia gummifera, Cordia africana) because of these human interferences
(agricultural practices, firewood, construction wood). Light intensity is higher than in forests.
In secondary forest, compared to primary forest, wood is softer, leaves bigger, trees grow
faster and are richer in potassium. In third forest appear thorn trees as Acacia abyssinica
which could be also a primary tree (in Kossa State Farm, there are natural acacias). Albizia
gummifera also is sometimes a primary forest tree. Especially Croton machrostachyus is a
secondary forest tree (never primary).
28 Shade trees met: Anunuu (Oromic), Bosoqaa (Oromic), Zanbaba (Amharic), Kironton Bisannaa (Amharic),
Wankaa (Amharic), Sasaa (Amharic), Lolchisa (Oromic), Laftoo (Oromic), Wadessa (Oromic), Ebicha
(Oromic), Langessa (Oromic), Mango, Orange tree, Ensete, Muqaqawe (Oromic). Refer 3.3) The biodiversity of
Limu Kosa forests and home gardens.
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