Ethiopia launches national coffee strategy to double production, increase export revenue 

ETHIOPIA – Ethiopia has launched a comprehensive national coffee strategy aimed at more than doubling coffee production and increasing annual export earnings to US$6 billion by 2031.  

The initiative, unveiled jointly by Agriculture Minister Ato Addisu Arega and Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority Director General Dr. Adugna Debela, seeks to significantly improve productivity across the country’s coffee sector through a range of interventions spanning the entire value chain. 

The strategy targets an increase in average coffee yields from 900kg per hectare to 2,100kg per hectare within the next five years.  

The planned productivity growth is intended to narrow the gap between Ethiopia and leading coffee-producing countries such as Brazil and Vietnam, where yields range between 2,500kg and 2,700kg per hectare. 

The national programme incorporates nine strategic interventions, including the expansion of improved coffee varieties, increased planting density, enhanced agronomic practices, better post-harvest processing systems and strengthened agricultural research to improve productivity and quality. 

A major component of the initiative is the construction of a tissue culture facility at the Jimma Agricultural Research Center in partnership with the Agricultural Transformation Institute.  

The facility will enable the large-scale production of disease-resistant, climate-resilient and high-yield hybrid coffee seedlings for distribution to farmers across the country. 

According to Minister Addisu, strengthening agricultural research is central to the strategy’s long-term success. 

“The strategy focuses on developing and multiplying new, high-yielding, disease-resistant, and climate-resilient hybrid coffee varieties,” the minister said, adding that the deployment of these improved varieties will be supported by the new tissue culture centre currently under construction at the Jimma Agricultural Research Center. 

The minister also highlighted the economic significance of the initiative, noting that Ethiopia generated approximately US$3 billion in coffee export revenue during the recent 2018 Ethiopian budget year.  

He said the new productivity programme is designed to double that figure over the coming years. 

Director General Dr. Adugna Debela expressed confidence in the implementation of the strategy. 

“The plan aims to make history in the coffee sector by properly executing this package within the next two to three years,” he said, adding that operational preparations have been completed to support implementation and strengthen farmer livelihoods while expanding Ethiopia’s position in the global coffee market. 

The strategy was launched during a consultative forum attended by federal and regional government officials, researchers, coffee association representatives, model farmers, developers, suppliers and exporters, reflecting broad stakeholder support for the initiative. 

Widely recognised as the birthplace of Arabica coffee, Ethiopia remains one of the world’s leading coffee producers, with the crop supporting more than six million smallholder farmers and serving as a cornerstone of the country’s agricultural economy and export sector. 

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