Ethiopia’s Fluctuating Coffee Industry

Coffee is the number one consumed beverages all over the world but what will happen if coffee production fluctuates?Maybe there will be a panic buying in the market.

With today’s climate change, global warming is affecting not just the supply but also the lives of Ethiopian farmers, who heavily rely on the coffee industry for their livelihood.

According to Kebede Garmamu, a coffee farmer – “the amount of coffee they produce is fluctuating, especially when there is a lot of sun during the dry seasons.”

Ethiopia is Africa’s largest coffee producers, but their coffee industry has been threatened by climate change. They produce less and less amount of coffee than the previous years.

The cause of this fluctuation is because of too much heat. Coffee plants ideally need mild temperatures between 15 to 26 degrees Celsius to thrive. But with today’s climate, there is less production of coffee in the Ethiopian region that is why farmers are taking extra measures and growing alternative crops to combat the problem.

The higher the temperature, coffee will not grow in the region especially in the lowland areas of Ethiopia where there is a higher temperature.

Researchers suggested that farmers in Ethiopia can increase their yields four-fold by moving to higher regions with a more suitable climate.

Coffee is the most important crop for this country and the biggest export earner, so, what will happen to Ethiopia’s coffee industry when this climate change continues? What would happen to the coffee industry in the future?

Source: Al Jazeera