Did you know that Ethiopia is the origin of coffee Arabica? It is estimated that 2-5 million households are involved in coffee production and around 15 million people depend on coffee for their livelihoods. Around 60% of coffee farmers have less than 0.5 ha of land on which they grow coffee.

While many farmers still harvest forest coffee, others also grow coffee in their garden. In general, the productivity is quite low (around 50-200 kg/ha in forests and 400-500 kg/ha for garden coffee).

Coffee is an integral part of Ethiopia’s culture. Around half of the country’s production is consumed locally.

Ethiopian farmers receive only around 5% of the final selling price of coffee paid by consumers.

Coffee is Ethiopia’s most important export commodity. For 2019/20, exports are forecasted to reach around 240’000 tons – about 13’000 ship containers.

Coffee still grows wild in the natural forests in the Southwest of the country. To secure the genetic diversity of Arabica coffee and the livelihood basis of the local population, the forests need to be conserved.

Coffee production and beekeeping in Nono Sale, EthiopiaFacts and Figures

An average smallholder family earns around 10’000 Ethiopian Birr, about 285 Euro, per year from conventional coffee

production. This corresponds to a daily income of less than 0.80 Euro and does not allow farmers to get out of poverty. The income needed to afford a decent standard of living, known as a living income, for an Ethiopian family is about 5 Euro per

day.

Coffee

With an estimated annual production of

almost 48’000 tons of honey, Ethiopia is Africa’s

largest honey producer and one of the top ten worldwide. It is

estimated that roughly 80% of the total honey produced is

used locally for brewing honey wine (Tej).

In Ethiopia, hardly any pesticides are used. This

creates opportunities for organic bee products.

For example, pesticide-free beeswax is a coveted product in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food

industry. However, the export share is estimated to be less

than 2% of the beeswax produced in Ethiopia.

In 2016/17, about 444

tons of honey were exported (<1% of

production).

Most farmers use local

beehives, which produce on average

about 8 kg of honey per year.

Bee products

Nono Sale, the district featured in the video, is located in the Ilubabor zone of Ethiopia’s southwestern highlands. It is the home for about 5’100 households.

Around 80% of the households in Nono Sale derive income from coffee and 61% also gain income from honey and wax production. Other income sources include the production of crops and spices as well as animal husbandry.

The area has great potential to produce high-quality coffee and bee products. Together with its partners, the Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains

Initiative (INA) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development promotes quality management improvements and creates market

linkages in order to close the current living income gap, i.e. the gap between the current income and an income allowing to live a decent life.

Nono SaleP

hoto

s: ©

GIZ