While coffee is an important crop for both the local and national economies of Ethiopia, its production is influenced by environmental and socio-economic challenges. Climate change affects coffee production, while the coffee value chain also exerts pressure on the coffee farmers due to price volatility, asymmetrical relationships between farmers and traders, and low farm-gate prices. The objective of the study was to examine the effects of climate change and the coffee value chain on smallholder coffee farmers in the Gedeo zone, southern Ethiopia. A mixed research approach was employed to analyze the simultaneous effects of climate change and coffee value chains on coffee production and their implications for farmers growing it. A livelihood vulnerability index was devised to evaluate the exposure of coffee production to the various components of the coffee value chain and climate change. A household survey of 331 coffee farmers was undertaken to assess the components of coffee livelihoods and their exposure to climate change and the effects of the coffee value chain. Focus group discussions were carried out in the Gedeo zone to examine how the different dimensions of the coffee value chain influence the coffee farmers. The findings reveal that exposure of the coffee farmers to climate and coffee value chain-associated adversities was medium and high, with an index of 0.51 and 0.62, respectively, while the overall vulnerability index (including both climate and economic stressors) was 0.59. While the study revealed that both climate change and economic challenges affect the coffee sector, value chain-derived economic stressors exert greater pressure on farmers than climate change in the study area. The findings help design targeted interventions that enable farmers to navigate in the coffee value chain while engaging in effective responses to the changing climate. The study also presents a perspective through which climate change impacts and stressors emanating from the coffee value chain can be integrated through the framework of double exposure.
Asnake Adane (Sun,) studied this question.