TechnoServe’s Broad
Forest Coffee Stumping in Ethiopia
Stumping
involves pruning older and less productive trees down to just a stump. This
stimulates the growth of new sprouts that develop into new branches within a
few months .
It’s
a proven technique that results in a 2- to 3-fold increase in yields and a
potential tripling of income within three years. By rejuvenating existing
trees, stumping reduces the need for farmers to shift to other crops that
deplete the soil of nutrients and are often less profitable than coffee. It
also produces healthier trees that are better able to withstand pests, disease,
and erratic weather that come with a changing climate.
And
in recent years, some of Ethiopia’s high-quality coffees have been selling for
over three times the average export price. But productivity is decreasing as
Ethiopia is now not the top exporter of coffee bean from Africa replaced by
Uganda. And the country’s coffee world market shareis lagging behind other major
leading coffee-producing countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and
Vietnam.
Lack
of pruning is identified as the problem causing the decline in yield. Almost
80% of Ethiopia’s 1 million hectares of coffee trees are underproductive
because the trees are not trimmed often enough.
More
than 2 million smallholder farmers are dependent on small scale coffee farms. Most
of these farms are located at slowly declining highland forest plateau. The
government’s policy ofincreasing coffee plantations driven by low productivity
is degrading forest land.
TechnoServe
has achieved training about 200,000 farmers through its Coffee Farm College.
But with 2 million coffee farming households in the country, Stewart says
TechnoServe needs help to scale up the program and reach many more farmers.
The
World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL)
launched an innovative private sector strategy in Ethiopia’s Oromia region in
2020 that includes funding to support coffee stumping training and income
compensation for farmers. The new strategy builds on existing World Bank
initiatives in Ethiopia and leverages several sources of new investment,
including funds from the private sector, as well as additional donor funding.
“We
know that stumping is a key part of the mix in achieving our goals of reducing
forest emissions in Oromia while also dramatically increasing farmers’
incomes.” says ISFL Fund Manager, Roy Parizat.
“Ethiopia
has perfect soil and climate conditions to grow high quality coffee with no
chemical fertilizers needed. Systematic training of Ethiopia’s smallholder
farmers is the best way to tap into these natural advantages,” Stewart added.
“Training
farmers on how to increase their incomes on the land they already use is a
really effective way to decrease encroachment on forested areas,” says Parizat.
“It is also great for coffee drinkers around the world who will hopefully enjoy
more high-quality Ethiopian coffees.”