The Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS) reports the completion and evaluation of CAFE II Project (Coffee Alliance For Ethiopia) on program benefiting small holders coffee farmers
November 29 - 2024
Coffee Geography Magazine
D.L. Gemeda
In 2014 the Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS) initiated the CAFE Project (Coffee Alliance For Ethiopia) in the Amhara state in the northern region where coffee plantation is not widely cultivated to support small holders coffee farmers in the islands of Lake Tana. In addition to improving quality and productivity, HRNS’ CAFE Project has components dedicated to balancing gender equity in the farming households, retaining youth in farming and mitigating the effects of climate change on farming communities.
One of the CAFE Project’s first initiatives was to help Amhara farmers organize into legally registered cooperatives. Zege Coop was the first to restructure under the Amhara Coffee Farmer’s Cooperative Union (ACFCU,) newly formed and legally registered in 2015.
Lake Tana is not only the largest lake in Ethiopia, it also happens to be the source of the Blue Nile river which runs over 900 miles from its source to Khartoum, Sudan all the way to Alexandria, Egypt creating the wet delta. In a country known for its incredible internal coffee consumption (around 60% of coffee produced in Ethiopia is consumed in the country that make them the heaviest coffee drinkers in the world,) the people in the northern part of the country (including Amhara Region) consume more coffee than any other.
Situated on Lake Tana, the Zege island encompasses around 20 square kilometers (~5,000 acres) of pristine forestland. The Zege Peninsula is also home to the Ura Kidane Mehret monastery. Founded in the 14th century, it is one of the oldest and most famous Orthodox monasteries in Ethiopia. Legend says that four hundred years ago a monk from Zege by the name of Betre Mariam blessed the land to live off of three plants only: Coffee, Limes and “Hops.” Staying true to this divine instruction the farmers of Zege have maintained the verdant forests and are famous (locally) for their flavorful limes and “hops” used to brew a local beer called “Tala.”
CAFE, funded by the Austrian Development Agency and International Coffee Partners (ICP), the project partners with the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture to enable coffee cooperatives for productive output/trade by providing training to farmers through field schools , increasing their adoption of good agricultural practices (GAPs) , with more emphasis to promote gender equality by advancing the involvement of women in the coffee businesses.
The farmers have gained through the project as their coffee yield increases over the years by properly implementing the management of shade trees. The increasing coffee price in the market has also helped the farmers to scale up their productivity capacity to be resilient in time of difficulty in the future.
The average yield of green coffee beans per hectare has been increased by 70% from 385kg in 2020 to 655 in 2024. And average gross margin/profitability per hectare has risen from $760 in 2020 $3,085 in 2023 which showed a 406% increase in their income.
The organization, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS) was founded in 2005 by Michael R. Neumann and his family, building on their deep history of working side-by-side with smallholder coffee farmer families as green coffee traders. The objectives of the foundation are livelihood improvement in tropical rural environments, youth support as well as protecting nature and the environment. HRNS is named after its founder’s father Hanns R. Neumann.