Wild Ethiopian Coffee: Harvesting the Perks of
an Indigenous Crop
17 January, 2011 | By Danielle Nierenberg (AlterNet - blog)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
scale farmers in developing countries whose sole source of income
is coffee production. Of the two globally cultivated coffee species
(Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora)—commonly known as
Arabica and Robusta—Arabica is the most admired and dominates
70 percent of all coffee production. The species naturally occurs
exclusively in the isolated highland forests of Southern Ethiopia.
For thousands of years, people living in the Ethiopian highlands have
traditionally been roasting coffee berries and grinding them in a
mortar. Coffee is often served with hot water and sugar to guests as
part of a ritual of hospitality and respect. It was not until around the
sixth century that coffee spread to the Arabian Peninsula, and
eventually throughout the world.
In the past 30 years—as a result of poverty and a growing local
population—Ethiopia’s highland forests have been shrinking from
deforestation for farmland, timber extraction, and the growing size
of human settlements. Biodiversity is rapidly being lost in this
delicate ecosystem. Recent research indicates that the natural
diversity among the wild coffee cultivars in Ethiopia is high. Some of
them have shown resistance to drought conditions—a trait that
could become increasingly valuable. Many coffee growing regions
across the continent and the world are becoming drier from climate
change, and the livelihoods of millions of coffee growers are at
stake. But as Ethiopia’s forests degrade, wild coffee—and a
valuable genetic resource—is becoming endangered.
Hoping to improve diets and livelihoods by preserving indigenous
foods around the world, Slow Food International is compiling a
database of indigenous crops or the Ark of Taste. The ark is helping
to rediscover, catalog, and popularize endangered crops that Slow
Food believes have real commercial potential. Slow food has
recently added wild coffee from the Ethiopian highlands—which it
calls Harenna wild coffee after the forest where it grows—to the list.
The Harenna forest is located at an elevation of 1,800 meters in
Ethiopia’s Bale National Park. Wild coffee gatherers typically
harvest the berries by hand, competing with baboons who also eat
them. They dry them in the sun on suspended nets and then sell
them in local markets for low prices.
In 2007, Slow Food began training 64 gatherers on improved
harvesting and drying techniques. Gatherers are also trained in
organizational and business skills. The goal is to help locals produce
a consistent, quality product that can then be marketed worldwide
as a specialty product. Slow Food believes that wild coffee can sell
for premium prices by emphasizing its natural and eco-friendly
qualities. A certification process would be needed to authenticate
the product’s origins and sustainable harvesting, although that
process does not yet exist. The added economic value would not
only improve the incomes of local people, it could also help slow
deforestation as gatherers become better stewards to preserve their
product.
The prices of coffee exported from Africa have steadily declined
over the years, in part due to lack of competitiveness in the global
market and limited access to premium sellers. Further development
of a wild coffee industry—as well as research into the development
of cultivars that are better suited to various coffee growing regions
on the continent—could enhance the quality of African coffee and
contribute to poverty alleviation.
To read more about crops indigenous to Africa see: Black
Plum: Fruit, Timber, and Agroforestry, Safou: the
“Butterfruit” , Traditional Food Crops Provide Community
Resilience in Face of Climate Change, Monkey Oranges:
Mouthwatering Potential, The Green Gold of Africa, The
Locust Bean: An Answer to Africa’s Greatest Needs in One
Tree, and Lablab: The Bountiful, Beautiful Legume.
Connect with Nourishing the Planet on Facebook by clicking HERE.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Danielle Nierenberg, an expert on livestock and sustainability,
currently serves as Project Director of State of World 2011 for the
Worldwatch Institute (www.NourishingthePlanet.org), a
Washington, DC-based environmental think tank.
Courtesy
an Indigenous Crop
17 January, 2011 | By Danielle Nierenberg (AlterNet - blog)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- It is hard to imagine modern
life without coffee. But one
thing that rarely crosses our
minds as we sip our
morning cups is that coffee
is an African native.
Worldwide coffee is a $90
billion a year industry, there
are 125 million people
scale farmers in developing countries whose sole source of income
is coffee production. Of the two globally cultivated coffee species
(Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora)—commonly known as
Arabica and Robusta—Arabica is the most admired and dominates
70 percent of all coffee production. The species naturally occurs
exclusively in the isolated highland forests of Southern Ethiopia.
For thousands of years, people living in the Ethiopian highlands have
traditionally been roasting coffee berries and grinding them in a
mortar. Coffee is often served with hot water and sugar to guests as
part of a ritual of hospitality and respect. It was not until around the
sixth century that coffee spread to the Arabian Peninsula, and
eventually throughout the world.
In the past 30 years—as a result of poverty and a growing local
population—Ethiopia’s highland forests have been shrinking from
deforestation for farmland, timber extraction, and the growing size
of human settlements. Biodiversity is rapidly being lost in this
delicate ecosystem. Recent research indicates that the natural
diversity among the wild coffee cultivars in Ethiopia is high. Some of
them have shown resistance to drought conditions—a trait that
could become increasingly valuable. Many coffee growing regions
across the continent and the world are becoming drier from climate
change, and the livelihoods of millions of coffee growers are at
stake. But as Ethiopia’s forests degrade, wild coffee—and a
valuable genetic resource—is becoming endangered.
Hoping to improve diets and livelihoods by preserving indigenous
foods around the world, Slow Food International is compiling a
database of indigenous crops or the Ark of Taste. The ark is helping
to rediscover, catalog, and popularize endangered crops that Slow
Food believes have real commercial potential. Slow food has
recently added wild coffee from the Ethiopian highlands—which it
calls Harenna wild coffee after the forest where it grows—to the list.
The Harenna forest is located at an elevation of 1,800 meters in
Ethiopia’s Bale National Park. Wild coffee gatherers typically
harvest the berries by hand, competing with baboons who also eat
them. They dry them in the sun on suspended nets and then sell
them in local markets for low prices.
In 2007, Slow Food began training 64 gatherers on improved
harvesting and drying techniques. Gatherers are also trained in
organizational and business skills. The goal is to help locals produce
a consistent, quality product that can then be marketed worldwide
as a specialty product. Slow Food believes that wild coffee can sell
for premium prices by emphasizing its natural and eco-friendly
qualities. A certification process would be needed to authenticate
the product’s origins and sustainable harvesting, although that
process does not yet exist. The added economic value would not
only improve the incomes of local people, it could also help slow
deforestation as gatherers become better stewards to preserve their
product.
The prices of coffee exported from Africa have steadily declined
over the years, in part due to lack of competitiveness in the global
market and limited access to premium sellers. Further development
of a wild coffee industry—as well as research into the development
of cultivars that are better suited to various coffee growing regions
on the continent—could enhance the quality of African coffee and
contribute to poverty alleviation.
To read more about crops indigenous to Africa see: Black
Plum: Fruit, Timber, and Agroforestry, Safou: the
“Butterfruit” , Traditional Food Crops Provide Community
Resilience in Face of Climate Change, Monkey Oranges:
Mouthwatering Potential, The Green Gold of Africa, The
Locust Bean: An Answer to Africa’s Greatest Needs in One
Tree, and Lablab: The Bountiful, Beautiful Legume.
Connect with Nourishing the Planet on Facebook by clicking HERE.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Danielle Nierenberg, an expert on livestock and sustainability,
currently serves as Project Director of State of World 2011 for the
Worldwatch Institute (www.NourishingthePlanet.org), a
Washington, DC-based environmental think tank.
Courtesy
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