Coffee production in Limmu Awraja, southwest Ethiopia: From the early twentieth century to the introduction of privatization policy

Abstract

This article discusses the role of awrajas in the development and expansion of coffee production. To reconstruct the history of coffee production, various sources such as archival documents, oral interviews, and secondary literature have been consulted. The coffee farming industry in Ethiopia is young, but Limmu Awraja has been remarkably successful, supplying a huge amount of coffee to domestic and international markets. When the area was incorporated into the central government by Emperor Menelik II, the newly assigned governors developed semi-forest coffee production from forest coffee. The increasing commercialization of coffee led to the mechanization of farming. There had been obstacles in the way of peasants producing coffee on large areas of land due to the feudal and exploitative land tenure system, limited access to fertile and vast lands, and minimal knowledge of coffee productivity and production. However, coffee plantations continued to grow rapidly after the 1950s. The government issued a land reform that granted lands to peasants. This helped peasants to get access to land and could grow coffee and other crops without being subjected to exploitation but could not be able to maintain productivity. Derg nationalized most coffee plantations, which were owned by landlords and former government officials, and subsequently became Limmu Coffee Plantation Corporation under the Ministry of Coffee and Tea Development. Due to the expansion of mechanized coffee farms, a prominent level of seasonal labour migration from other parts of the country towards Limmu awraja had been increased. This adversely contributed to food shortages and high population densities in the Awraja.