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

In Limu Kosa, the average better-off smallholder owns one hectare of coffee located in
its home garden (and agro-forest plots in a lesser way) and in which he produces
approximately 20 quintals (a bulk of selected varieties). This coffee represents less than a half
of his total farm area. The non-coffee area is dedicated to other crops, especially maize. That
corresponds to model farmers I could meet around Genet in Sunxxu farmers’ association. This
average profile has to be considered as the upper limit of the whole peasants’ profiles.
Whereas poorest households are characterized by a lack of land reducing their farmland
around home, and by some agro-forest trees producing low yields. In Limu Kosa, they
represent the bulk of producers 52
.
Our sample represents 14% of the whole Limu Kosa producers (3,762 on 27,004).
Made of better-off producers more or less taking the innovation and representing the upper
limits met by the whole producers (concerning land property and yields), this sample reveals
the motions and trends defining Limu Kosa producing framework.
Illustration 25: Average number of coffee plots per member household according to the kebele 53
(prod: Bossolasco, 2009)
52 Refer 4.2.3) Agricultural practices of small-scale farmers
53 Decimals don’t have any sense regarding to plots number. These numbers have been rounded to unity. For
example, 1.2 plots mean that farmers of the kebele tend to own 1 plot even if few ones own more.
58