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

300 members. The average production per individual member was assessed with 596 kg of
dry forest coffee per year. These results obtained from cooperative chairmen in Gzmeret,
Michiti, Medfegna and Chiri in the research project “Conservation and use of wild
populations of coffee Arabica in the montane rainforest of Ethiopia” (conducted from 2003 to
2007 by the Center for Development Research, Bonn, Germany) can be applied to the agro-
forest system met in Limu Kosa. In total, it is estimated that only 6-10% of the total Ethiopian
coffee production is gained from forest production systems (Abebaw and Virchow, 2003).
But, even if the agro-forest production data seem low, only 7% of the farmers interviewed in
the same project in Bonga region are not producing forest coffee. Reasons are loss of forest
land to spiritual leader or death of all coffee plants due to disease affection (Urich, 2005).
4.2.3) Small-scale farmers
Coffee is associated to subsistence crops as maize, enset, avocado, ginger or tomato.
Familial crops constitute ecosystems sheltering many animal and vegetal species. Coffee trees
roots dive deeply and prevent soil erosion. Few inputs are used (less than 10% of farmers use
it) just to control perennial weeds (coach grass, Cyprus species). The vast majority of
production comes from smallholder production, especially from their home garden. Trees are
rain fed and these are indeed low input-output farming systems. Coffee management is
minimal with coffee generally grown under forest trees canopies with little pruning, field
hygiene or stumping. The low input characteristic of farming in many coffee growing areas
means that much of Ethiopia’s production can be considered organic, although little
certification has taken place yet. Lack of management means harvests occur in a regular
fluctuating cycle: peak/high-medium-low (Urich, 2005). For better yields this system calls for
proper pruning, cultivation to destroy perennial weeds, selective picking, controlled drying,
shade and suitable spacing ratio between interplants and the coffee trees (Bantte, 1995).
Illustration 22: Mulching, animal dung, stumping, tillage (Bossolasco, 2009)
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