The Political Economy of Coffee Production, Processing and Marketing in Gedeo and Sidama: Local, National and Global Developments (1941 To 2010)
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Date
2015-12
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This dissertation, reconstructs the role that coffee played in multifaceted changes that took place
in the two regions of southern Ethiopia, predominantly inhabited by the people of Gedeo and
Sidama. The study covers a period of seven decades, starting .from the middle of the twentieth
centUl),. Its central theme is interaction of people and governments il1 the coffee economy, and
reaction of people and governments to local, national and globol forces to man-made and
natural circumstances. 1n the course of explaining continuity and change in relations and
interactions of people and government in the coffee economy of the regions, which is the central
thesis a/this research, thefol/owing sub themes such as: how Ethiopia did not care about coffee
at production level, cofTee both its production and trade facilitated integration of these two
regions to the Ethiopian State, the situation of coffee before 1974 that was dominated by nonindigenous
settlers and after 1974 the local agency took the leading, how the Ethiopian and
Gedeo and Sidama coffee industl), suffered under the dictation of the world coffee market,
imposition of coffee production on the local people and little benefit they got .from it, and the
nature of coffee production, processing and marketing (small-scale production at local level by
local households, and large-scale production and processing by others such as the niife/iililia,
teke/iililla, cooperatives and associations) were discussed in nine chapters of the dissertation as
part and parcel of the main thesis that shows developments related to the coffee economy. To
show interactions and reactions of peoples Gild governments, alld to trace continuities and
changes in the stOl)" all sources (primw)' and secondary and written as well as oral) were
IItilized. Moreover, analyses were made to substalltiate arguments Gnd interpretations of various
sources. Afier employing all sorts o/sources, th e study has come to display the following major
findings. OIVing to its becoming a pillar of the national export for long in the past, coffee had
come to experience several reforms, which affected ils prodllction, processing and marketing Gnd
interaction of the stakeholders at various levels. Besides, the onerous and continuous prices fall
in the world coffee market appeared to have been the source of all evil in the coffee induslly,
which provoked both governments of the countly and coffee farmers of the two regions to react
against coffee by responding to local, national and global dares to the coffee economy. This in
turn became blessing in disguise for both Gedeo and Sidama coffee farmers and governments 0/
the country to gradually diversify their farms and export menu respectively at the expense of
coffee to lIIaximizetlleir income and minimize shocks that used 10 cOllie .from the world coffee
market.
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Keywords
Political Economy, Coffee Production