Poor Farmer

Note from Wondwossen: The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has published on March 22, 2012 the final evaluation report on its assistance to Ethiopia in two strategic programs: Economic Growth Corridor and Private Sector Development, which includes UNDP's support for the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange. The evaluation was conducted from November 28 to December 16, 2011 with the objective to assess the progress and achievement of the projects and "the contribution of UNDP’s support towards these, and to propose measures to increase the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of UNDP’s cooperation in the area of private sector development." Highlights (paraphrased): ·          UNDP has allocated $1.5 million annually (from July 2008 through June 2013) to cover salaries of the international experts (including the CEO's salary of about $300,000 annually, according to the Ethiopian Weekly, Addis Fortune, June 24, 2012) ·   ...

A study commissioned by the Partnership Program between the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs Government and Wageningen UR has concluded that the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange cannot meet the demands of the high value markets, such as the Japanese market and the demand for sustainably and safely produced mainstream products by major Western retailers. But it does meet the demands of the major importer, China, and other countries that pay rather low prices.  The following is an excerpt from the study. Ethiopian Commodity Exchange: opportunities but also limitations Since the establishment of the ECX, the ECX itself and the subject of specialty produce has been a much debated and sometimes politically sensitive issue. As the CEO of the ECX has put it: "specialty coffee has taken ECX by storm". In an interview held with the Chief Executive Officer of the ECX at the end of 2009, she mentioned that they have realized that the very flexible system of the ECX...

Companies are turning to exploration to ensure future coffee supplies because production has leveled off even as demand has increased, causing coffee-bean prices to quadruple since 2001. The Texas A&M University agronomist, Tim Schilling, heads World Coffee Research financed by Folgers coffee maker  J.M. Smucker  Co.,  Peet's Coffee & Tea  Inc. and others. The group's goal is to expand the global coffee crop's tiny gene pool.    ---   The Indiana Jones of Coffee: Companies Go Deep Into Africa in Search of Perfect Bean By Miguel Bustillo and Solomon Moore The Wall Street Journal July 18, 2012 Tim Schilling, a Texas A&M agronomist, notes the GPS location of an Arabica coffee plant growing in a small village in the Boma mountains.  Photo: Specialty Coffee Association of America, courtesy of WSJ BOMA, South Sudan—Tim Schilling trudged through the African wilderness, trailing a barefoot tribeswoman named ...

This is my personal favorite news of the week and perhaps a fascinating opportunity for a patriot coffee aficionado: to get paid up to $68,784 to do what you love to do while serving your country?!  - Wondwossen --- By David Pugliese The Ottawa Citizen July 18, 2012 Wanted: One coffee corporal. The Canadian military, which has a number of challenging jobs for those in uniform, has just posted details for applicants who want to fill the role of a caffeine commando. The job posting is actually for a clerk at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School at the Saint-Jean Garrison in Quebec. But the main duties will be to make coffee. According to the job posting, the successful applicant will “plan and prepare coffee orders, efficiently control the inventory and services of the coffee machines, gather all the money collected from the coffee machines and accordingly make the deposits to the bank.” The applicant will also oversee setting up the co...

Note from Wondwossen : As a matter of disclosure, t he following report was apparently posted online on May 20, 2012, but was not brought to my attention until after I cross-posted agritrade's article titled, " High prices encourage coffee production in East Africa, but challenges remain ." Any resemblance between the facts and conclusions drawn by this report and the ones detailed in my recent piece titled, " Ethiopia’s coffee export nose-dives as government control backfires " and published on July 15, 2012 is entirely coincidental. --- Ethiopia Coffee Annual Report - public distribution Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Report USDA Foreign Agricultural Service May 15, 2012 Report Highlights: Ethiopia is a major producer (the largest in Africa) and exporter of coffee.  Because of information not earlier available, estimates for Ethiopian coffee production have been revised upward substantially from earlier USDA estimates.  Ex...

NOTE : Agritrade is an affiliate of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) . The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). It is funded by the European Union. - Wondwossen --- Agritrade   ( ACP-EU (CTA)) July 16, 2012 USDA has posted its annual reviews of coffee production in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. The Kenyan report notes that record and near-record prices ‘have increased interest in producing and exporting high-quality Kenyan coffee’, with investments being made in improved varieties and production practices. USDA projects exports of 725,000 60-kg bags in marketing year (MY) 2012 and 800,000 in MY 2013.  This will still be below the 900,000 60-kg bags achieved in 2008/09. According to USDA, Kenyan ‘AA’ beans will continue to be exported to the European market, wher...